Iranian Attorney-General Jafar Montazeri on Sunday said that his country would continue to follow-up on the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by a US army airstrike. Montazeri said the pursuit would carry on until all those responsible are held accountable.
“The judicial file is multifaceted, affecting both the Iraqi and Iranian government, and the hegemonic countries,” official media quoted Montazeri as saying.
He noted that the Iraqi government had “taken steps” but that the progress was beneath expectations.
“We will not leave the follow-up of the file until the completion of this case, even if it takes years,” said Montazeri, noting that “the file has international dimensions and takes time.”
The United States will not remove the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) unless Tehran pledges to cease its death threats against US officials for the killing of the IRGC's Qassem Soleimani, a source close to the Vienna talks has told Radio Farda.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and IRGC officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge Soleimani's death.
The source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Radio Farda that Tehran's last-minute demand for delisting the IRGC is currently the biggest hurdle in the way of an agreement to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran’s foreign minister told the United Nations (UN) chief on Sunday that “the ball is in the US’ court” with regards to restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, adding that the negotiations were “close” to reaching an agreement, Iran’s state media reported.
According to state media, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the ceasefire in Yemen and the nuclear talks.
Making the remarks in a phone conversation with Guterres, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran has submitted its proposals concerning the remaining unresolved issues to the US through Enrique Mora, the European Union (EU) coordinator for the Iran nuclear talks.
Guterres expressed his hope that Iran and world powers would soon reach an agreement at the nuclear talks in Vienna which have been underway for over a year. The foreign minister responded that Iranian demands have already been made clear, and that it is now up to the US to make a final decision.
The key sticking point is Iran’s demand for sanctions on its Revolutionary Guard be removed, in turn removing the group from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.
