U.S. Senate Bars Biden From Delisting IRGC

Date: 06 May 2022 - 22:07

News ID: ۱۰۲۲۵۰

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The U.S. Senate passed a non-binding motion on Wednesday prohibiting the Biden administration from removing the foreign terrorist designation on the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as part of a revived nuclear deal.
The Senate voted 62-33 on the motion introduced by Republican Senator James Lankford, which also included language calling for any agreement to address Tehran’s role in the region and the trade of sanctioned Iranian oil with China.

The motion garnered the support of Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Ben Cardin and Joe Manchin, all three of whom opposed the 2015 deal with Iran.
Chris Coons, a key ally of President Biden who has been labeled the “shadow secretary of state”, also voted in favor.
While the motion is non-binding, it will complicate attempts to revive the 2015 deal. The Biden administration already faces fierce criticism from Republicans over the negotiations, and recently, a small but growing number of Democrats have expressed their opposition to the current talks.
The Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed draconian sanctions on Iran.
Tehran maintained its compliance with the accord for a few months before it began rolling back its commitments in 2019 and enriching uranium.
Last week, in appearances on Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s alleged efforts to revive the deal, saying that the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign had failed and that Iran’s nuclear program has been “galloping forward” since the U.S. pulled out of the agreement.
The motion comes as hopes for a revival of the accord appear to fade. Though neither side has officially called off an end to the talks, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday that the U.S. was now preparing equally for a deal and no-deal scenario, calling a return to mutual compliance “very much an uncertain proposition”.
Iran demands that the U.S. lift the terrorism designation on the IRGC.
Also on Wednesday, 86 senators voted in favor of a motion put forward by Republican Senator Ted Cruz asserting that terrorism-related sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran and the IRGC are necessary to limit cooperation between China and Iran.
Both motions were part of legislative talks on a bill aimed at addressing competition with China in the semiconductor industry. Lawmakers opposed to the nuclear deal have long highlighted Tehran’s close ties with Beijing.
Earlier this year, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is a vocal opponent of the nuclear talks, urged the Biden administration to step up the enforcement of sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China.