US Senators Speak To Iran International Ahead Of Malley Report

Malley is sure to be questioned, by supporters and opponents of the 2015 deal (the JCPOA, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), over Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett’s claim Tuesday that President Joe Biden has decided not to accept Iran’s demand that he drop the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) from the US list of ‘foreign terrorist organizations.’

Supporters of the JCPOA in the US argue that the listing, by President Donald Trump in 2019, was one of many measures intended to doom subsequent efforts to renew the deal, from which Trump withdrew the US in 2018. They also say the the killing of Iranian IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodayari was an attempt to inflame Iran’s leadership and undermine diplomacy.

Critics of the JCPOA say the IRGC listing reflects its regional role and alliances with Hezbollah, Ansar Allah in Yemen, armed Iraqi groups, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They take comfort from statements from State Department spokesman Ned Price that the issue of IRGC listing is separate from the nuclear negotiations and requires further assurances or concessions from Tehran.

Decision on IRGC listing

Bennett said Tuesday that Biden had informed him April 24 that he had decided not to remove the IRGC listing. Bennett sadi he had agreed not to reveal this but had done so once an article appeared in Politico.

While the Israeli leadership’s opposition to the JCPOA led to tensions with the incoming Biden administration, given the latter’s commitment to reviving the agreement, Bennett now described his recent contacts with Biden as close.

“I laud the US administration, and first and foremost my friend, President Joe Biden, on his intention to leave the Revolutionary Guards where they belong – on the terror list,” Bennett said Tuesday. “President Biden is a true friend of Israel who is concerned with its security and continued fortitude.”

With feelings in Tehran running high after the Sayyad-Khodayari assassination Sunday, and continued pressure for some retaliation for the US 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, the Iranian leadership has appeared wary of compromise and has insisted that the delisting of the Guards is a ‘red line’ in the nuclear talks.

A recent visit to Tehran by Enrique Mora, the senior European Union official chairing the year-long nuclear talks in Vienna between Iran and six world powers, raised hopes of a breakthrough but appears to have produced nothing tangible. Likewise, nothing evident has emerged from Qatari attempts at mediation.

Washington awaits

In Washington, senators eagerly await Malley’s appearance at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a variety of hopes and expectations.

“I want Rob Malley to give an honest assessment of the status of negotiations and make the case for why diplomacy is the only viable path to keep Iran from a nuclear weapon,” Connecticut’s Democrat Senator Chris Murphy told Iran International Tuesday. “I don't think the US or our allies should be involved in the business of assassination…ratcheting up political assassination frankly puts all of us at risk, and isn't a good practice for democratic nations.”

But Rick Scott, a Republican representing Florida, said the talks were at a dead end. “What I would hope to hear [from Malley] is that they're not going to do anything, because the Iranians still chant death to Israel…They still have death threats on American citizens.”

Reflecting a sense in Washington that Malley needed to clarify and explain the strategy of the Biden administration,Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville opposed renewing the JCPOA but ruled out military means. “There's no way we can allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he told Iran International. “No way.”

Gabriel Noronha, a State Department special Iran adviser during the Trump administration, said he expected Malley to be “raked over the coals.”

Expressing optimism over the possibility that Tehran and Washington may reach an agreement over the delisting of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), international affairs expert Ali Bigdeli told Fararu news website Tuesday that Raisi’s visit to the sultanate may be an indication that a breakthrough in the nuclear talks could be expected.

“Raisi would definitely not have gone to Oman if the Qatari Emir’s visit to Iran and his European tour had no [positive] outcome,” he said, adding that it is possible that the issue of American prisoners in Iran may have been resolved during the visit.

Iran’s official media say the visit was aimed at improving political and economic ties and have particularly highlighted the trade deals concluded during the visit, including a joint gas pipeline, and opportunities for further cooperation but have not reported any discussion of the nuclear file during the visit.

Raisi’s visit to Muscat Monday was the first by an Iranian president in the past two years and his second to a Persian Gulf country since assuming office in August last year. He made his first visit to a Persian Gulf country to Qatar in February.

Talks in Vienna to restore the JCPOA have stalled since mid-March. Major issues reportedly include Washington’s refusal to delist Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) which the Trump administration designated as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’. Iran also insists on avenging the US killing of IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Ghasem (Qasem) Soleimani who was killed in Baghdad in 2020 in a US targeted drone attack.

Possible Qatari mediation between Tehran and Washington, has somehow been marred after controversy arose over remarks by Qatar’s foreign minister suggesting that Iran's Supreme Leader was ready for compromise in nuclear talks. Iran on Saturday dismissed the remark as reported by Al-Jazeera. Later the broadcaster changed the wording, deleting the word ‘compromise’. On Monday, the Qatari Emir said that Doha is not playing an official mediating role but wants to try to help and encourage all parties to come back to the agreement.

Referring to other diplomatic moves including the recent visits to Tehran of Enrique Mora, the European Union’s coordinator in Iran nuclear talks, another international affairs expert, Abdolreza Faraji-Rad, told Fararu that conditions have improved for continuation of nuclear talks and one can deduce that a change is taking place.

“The sultanate of Oman is still willing to break the impasse in the talks between Iran and 4+1 countries in Vienna and facilitate the release of Iran’s frozen assets despite the changes at the top level of the Omani government [after the death of Sultan Qabus],” Hassan Hanizadeh, a senior Middle East analyst, told another local website.

“It is very important for Oman that the positive outcome of its mediation between Tehran and Washington endures and that the two sides do not conclude that negotiation and third-party mediation are useless,” Oman expert Arash Saffar told Tabnak news website Monday.

“For Oman, managing the contacts between Iran and the US and not allowing tensions to increase, guarantees the security of the Persian Gulf and the national security of [regional] countries,” he said, adding that at the moment the Omani government is more focused on arrangements for unfreezing Iran’s blocked assets in other countries while the Qataris are more active in mediating for the resumption of Vienna talks.

In an interview published on Didban Iran [Iran Monitor] website, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the former head of the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, went a step further and called Russia’s ambassador in Iran Levan Dzhagaryan a “persona non grata.” He said “any other country would have deported him for his behavior,” and added that Dzhagaryan (Jagaryan) has repeatedly undermined Iranians’ pride and values.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the envoy instructed Iranian reporters in Tehran on how to cover the event and not to use the word ‘war,’ instead to call it a ‘special military operation.’

Falahatpisheh also spoke about the country’s current economic crisis and argued that it has radicalized Iran to the extent of “making a nuclear bomb is now being turned into a topic for discussion in media reports.” He added that for some politicians this is being turned into political posturing. Falahatpisheh, however, did not point out any specific examples.

The moderate-conservative politician has made bold statements in recent months and it is not clear to what extent he has the blessing of at least some circles in the Islamic Republic hierarchy.

Falahatpisheh also charged that Russia has exceptionally benefitted from its obstruction of the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He further said that the JCPOA talks have not been frozen, but they have been overshadowed by events in Ukraine. Furthermore, Falahatpisheh warned that the developments in the next six months may irreparably damage the negotiations and turn it into a problem impossible to solve.

Explaining what may take place during the next six months, Falahatpisheh said that a series of regional and global crises might take shape as the West has tried all its devices against Russia and Moscow is adamant to continue its onslaught on Ukraine and beyond. On the other hand, Finland and Sweden are joining NATO and this will flare up a Cold War between Moscow and NATO.

He added that on the other hand, we should await other developments both in Iran and the United States. Biden might lose his support among Congressional Democrats and his decisions will face tougher challenges as Congress is already against the JCPOA.

Earlier, Falahatpisheh had charged that some media and politicians try to cover Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “crimes” in Ukraine. He also charged that Russia was against an international nuclear deal with Iran even before invading Ukraine.

He claimed that the mission of Moscow’s top negotiator in Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, was that no agreement would be signed before the invasion of Ukraine.

In March, Falahatpisheh suggested that Tehran should start direct talks with Washington to cut out mediators like Russia who pursue ulterior motives in the nuclear talks.

In yet another interview, Falahatpisheh called Tehran’s official support for Moscow a historic mistake that has led to Iran’s isolation in the international community.

In his recent interview, Falahatpisheh said that Islamic Republic officials have repeatedly sacrificed Iran’s interests for maintaining good relations with Russia. In three cases officials declared in the past that exporting Iran’s natural gas to Europe was not economically feasible. They did that only to protect Russia’s monopoly on gas exports to Europe, he said.

In his first-ever appearance at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani added that “Iran is our next-door neighbor. We have a good understanding and good relationship with Iran, and our role is trying to help and to encourage all parties to come back to this agreement”.

During the opening address of the session, Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder and executive chairman, appreciated Qatar’s growing relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey simultaneously. Schwab then described Qatar as an important intermediary between the parties of the Vienna talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord.

The monarch said Qatar’s geo-strategic role in the region is to facilitate peace and secure energy supplies, adding that the best way to settle any dispute is to sit at the negotiating table

A report on the Doha-based channel Al-Jazeera, citing Qatari foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani’s account of the Qatari emir’s May 12 meeting with Ali Khamenei had mentioned the word “compromise,” attributing it to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Both Al-Jazeera and Reuters news agency have dropped the word ‘compromise’ from their reports, now citing the Qatari foreign minister as saying that Doha had been informed by Iran that the JCPOA negotiations matters were "under review."

A report on the Doha-based channel citing Qatari foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani’s account of Qatar emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s May 12 meeting with Khamenei had mentioned the word “compromise, attributing it to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Both Al-Jazeera and Reuters news agency have dropped the word ‘compromise’ from their reports, now citing the Qatari foreign minister saying that Doha had been informed by Iran that the JCPOA negotiations matters were "under review."

Iran’s foreign affairs spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, quickly responded Saturday, telling Tasnim news agency that Foreign Minister Al-Thani’s remarks had been deliberately misinterpreted by some media outlets and in any case falsely attributed to Khamenei.

The leader “never spoke of any compromise over the issue” during the meeting, Khatibzadeh said. "The Supreme Leader … told the Emir of Qatar: 'We have always said that negotiations should be productive and not a waste of time. The Americans know what to do regarding this.’"

Khatibzadeh insisted that the Qatari foreign minister had referred to Iranian officials rather than Khamenei, and that the translation of ‘compromise’ in Persian-language media had given a misleading sense of Iran making concessions rather than resolving disagreements.