US To Keep Sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Special Envoy Tells Doha Forum

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will remain sanctioned by the United States, even if a revived nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers is signed, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said on Sunday at the Doha Forum. Malley made the assertion despite hearing Kamal Kharrazi, a senior advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, say at the same forum that the deal hinges on the United States removing the foreign terrorist organization designation against the IRGC because “The IRGC is the national army, and the national army cannot be listed as a terrorist group.” Kharrazi said in his address that the signing of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is “imminent,” but Malley told the international leaders gathered for the forum that the deal is “not just around the corner,” and that: “We’ve been pretty close now for some time. And I think that tells you all you need to know about the difficulty of the issues.”  Meanwhile, Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service and coordinator for the ongoing nuclear talks in Vienna, met on Sunday in Tehran with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani to discuss pending issues in the nuclear talks. He is expected to travel from Iran to Washington.