Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley
The top US general says he does not support removing Iran's Quds (Qods) Force, an arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), from a US terrorism list.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, "In my personal opinion I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization and I do not support them being delisted from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list."
Milley’s remarks were worded very carefully as he differentiated the IRGC from the Quds Force -- its extraterritorial military wing – suggesting that the Biden administration may considering delisting the IRGC as an FTO but keeping its Quds Force as a terrorist organization.
Such a move may be intended to resolve one of the remaining issues in talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA that have reached a deadlock over Iran’s demand to delist the IRGC.
The Trump administration added the IRGC to the list in 2019. Iran insists that delisting the IRGC is a requirement and 'red line' for a deal, and its foreign ministry blames Washington for the delay in reaching a deal, saying the halt in the Vienna talks is due to US failure to make a "political decision".
The Biden administration has apparently not made a decision yet, amid rising opposition by Republican congressmen as well as a growing