Senior US Official: Biden Won’t Remove Iran’s Guards From Terror List

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking at the National Day of Nuclear Technology (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking at the National Day of Nuclear Technology (Iranian Presidency)
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Senior US Official: Biden Won’t Remove Iran’s Guards From Terror List

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking at the National Day of Nuclear Technology (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking at the National Day of Nuclear Technology (Iranian Presidency)

The Biden administration plans to reject an Iranian demand that the United States lift its designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization as a condition for renewing the 2015 nuclear agreement, a senior administration official told The Washington Post.

"The onus is on Iran whether we have a nuclear deal. The President will stick to core principles. The Iranians know our views," said the official.

This came as Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Saturday that Tehran would not give up its right to develop its nuclear industry for peaceful purposes, and all parties involved in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord should respect this.

The indirect talks between Iran and the US have faltered after 11 months of negotiations in Vienna, as each side throws the ball into the court of the other to take political decisions to settle the outstanding issues.

"For more than the one-hundredth time, our message from Tehran to Vienna is that we will not back off from the Iranian people's nuclear rights... not even an iota," state media quoted Raisi as saying in a speech marking Iran's Nuclear Technology Day.

One Iranian diplomat told Reuters that Tehran had rejected a US proposal to overcome the sticking point by keeping the IRGC's overseas arm, the Quds Force, under FTO sanctions while delisting the IRGC as an entity.

However, the US State Department said that the Quds Force should remain on its blacklist after the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told the Senate Armed Services Committee: "In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted."

In response to whether the Biden administration shares General Milley's view, State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the President shares the chairman's view that IRGC Qods Forces are terrorists.

"I would say is out of the 107 Biden administration designations in relation to Iran, 86 have specifically targeted the IRGC-related persons as well as affiliates," said Porter.

Earlier, State Secretary Anthony Blinken said in an exclusive interview with NBC that the IRGC is a terrorist organization, adding that "I would say simply that I'm not overly optimistic at the prospects of actually getting an agreement to a conclusion."

Blinken's consultations with his E3 counterparts in the European Troika, France, Germany, and Britain in Brussels addressed the Iranian nuclear issue.

Blinken and his E3 counterparts discussed a common resolve to ensure Iran never acquired a nuclear weapon.

They agreed that a diplomatic solution entailing a joint return to full implementation of the JCPOA is the "best outcome" but noted that they are prepared for other scenarios if necessary.

The administration of former President Donald Trump listed the IRGC on its terrorist list in 2019, nearly a year after unilaterally withdrawing from the agreement concluded between Iran and major powers in 2015.

Biden, who succeeded Trump, expressed his desire to return to the agreement, provided that Tehran complies with all of its commitments that it has retracted in the wake of Washington's withdrawal.

Recent statements by US officials prompted some analysts to say that Washington distinguishes between the IRGC and the Quds Force.

Earlier in March, US negotiator Rob Malley said that the IRGC would remain under US sanctions even if the group was removed from the terrorist list and that the stance of the United States would remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, a group of Republican senators called on the Biden administration to provide Israel with the weapons and military capabilities it needed to defend itself from Iran.

Mark Rubio, who led the campaign, urged the administration to take immediate action to provide Israel with the military capabilities it needs to defend itself from Iran, warning that a nuclear-armed Tehran would have significant negative regional implications.

The 11 senators sent a letter to the administration calling for expediting the delivery of KC-46A aerial refueling tankers to Israel as rapidly as possible without interrupting deliveries to the Air Force.

They asserted that the administration must also ensure that Israel retains adequate stockpiles of US-made precision-guided munitions.

"Finally, you must ensure that Israel possesses robust, multi-layered air defenses to mitigate attacks by Iran and its proxies, to include continued support for the Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow systems."



Ukraine Says It Shot Down Russian Fighter Jet from Sea Drone for First Time

A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says It Shot Down Russian Fighter Jet from Sea Drone for First Time

A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a seaborne drone, Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency announced on Saturday, in what it said was the world's first downing of a combat plane by a maritime drone.

Its statement on social media said the fighter had been shot down by a military intelligence unit called Group 13 on Friday over waters near Novorossiisk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea.

Outmanned and outgunned by its larger, wealthier Russian adversary, Ukraine has turned to drone warfare in the air and at sea as a way to fight back throughout more than three years of full-scale war.

Ukraine's seaborne drones, which are much cheaper and smaller than conventional ships, have wrought havoc on Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Ukraine has previously said it shot down a Russian military helicopter in December 2024 using a missile fired from the same type of seaborne drone.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the Ukrainian claim, but an authoritative Russian blogger believed to be close to the ministry said the jet had been shot down.

"Yesterday towards evening, a Su-30 naval aviation fighter jet was shot down by the Ukrainian side 50 kilometers west of Novorossiisk. This was done from an uncrewed boat with an R-73 SAM (surface-to-air missile)," the blogger, who goes by the name Rybar, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"The pilots ejected and were picked up by civilian sailors. Both are alive, and to hell with the plane."

The mayor of Novorossiisk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after local authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged a grain terminal and several residential buildings, injuring five people.