In a meeting in Qatar with his counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian talked about the nuclear talks, regional issues and bilateral relations.
Regarding the talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Amir-Abdollahian said that the United States needs to be "realistic” and cease its “excessive demands” if the sides are expected to return fully to negotiations. According to many observers, one of the last remaining issues before the removal of US sanctions in exchange for Iran reducing its nuclear levels back to the levels stated in the 2015 deal is the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The Trump administration, which exited the deal in 2018, placed the IRGC on the FTO list in order to make it more difficult for subsequent presidents to get back into the agreement.
In what could be seen as a sign that the United States may agree to delist the IRGC, former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has left the negotiation team. Shapiro tweeted, “I joined the State Department last August for a 6-month consultancy because I supported the Biden Administration’s policy of ensuring Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon. I still support it today as I embrace a great new opportunity.” In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “If and when there is a deal — which remains uncertain — I’ll have more to say then.”
Shapiro is the second high-profile exit from the US team regarding Iran-related issues. Former Obama-era official Richard Nephew left his position as deputy special envoy for Iran. It was reported that Nephew, who helped design the crippling sanctions on Iran under the Obama years, was seeking a harder US line in the negotiations.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
