Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 25, 2019 – The US administration designating of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) has turned into an important milestone for the regime. One way or the other, the consequences of this designation would give different factions of the regime a new angle in dealing with common international issues. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are among these issues. The fact of the matter is that the consequence of the IRGC FTO designation has muddled some of the important distinctions regarding the regime’s major issues.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) security committee criticized EU’s approach toward the FATF bills Iran is asked to ratify.
“Our experience with the European countries show the words and hopeful gestures expressed by them have no tangible result,” Falahatpisheh said. But he couldn’t identify a way out of sanctions loop in the absence of Europe’s action.
Comments by the French ambassador to the US regarding dialogue between the EU and the US in respect to some compromises about the JCPOA including adding Iranian regime’s missile program and its meddling in countries in the region prompted a naïve reaction by the Iranian regime.
Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry went as far as saying that the US-EU dialogue is only aimed at putting more pressures on Iran and that Iran was not part of those discussions.
But despite this moderate approach, the issue of US-EU negotiation the French ambassador was quoting prompted infighting and controversy among the rival factions of the regime regarding the JCPOA and subsequently the FATF as a new and major crisis threatening the future of the regime.
Elsewhere, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of the regime's Majlis (parliament) affiliated to the so-called moderate faction showed his utter concern of the IRGC terrorist designation.
“With respect to the US exiting the JCPOA and the EU’s hesitation in stabilizing financial mechanism to circumvent the sanctions, staying in the JCPOA has no benefit for us,” Sadeghi insisted during a Majlis session.
On the other hand, the regime’s former ambassador to Norway, Abdorreza Faraji-rad suggested that the regime should stay in the JCPOA no matter what.
“We must not act in a way that even Moscow and Beijing would be left in cold in trying to support us. Therefore, the JCPOA has now broken the ring between EU, Russia, and China, on one hand, and Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United State on the other, and looking at it from this angle is in our interest. And despite the lack of the economic benefit of the JCPOA, it must be said that exiting the JCPOA for us is ill-advised. And therefore we must stay in JCPOA for as long as it takes,” Farajirad responded to those who insist on exiting the JCPOA.
Insisting on the desperate need to stay in the JCPOA is at a time when Abtahi, another member of Majlis (parliament) says “if the JCPOA did not have any flaws, the US couldn’t complain against our activities every now and then and even exit from it.”
“If the JCPOA was a strong agreement from the outset the US wouldn’t have a free hand to deal with it as such, so, it is the fault of our foreign diplomacy,” Abtahi insisted.
Thus, the JCPOA being Hassan Rouhani’s great achievement has turned into internal infighting after the IRGC FTO designation.
Obviously, the crisis that has engulfed JCPOA and subsequently, the FATF is the result of the IRGC terrorist designation, a severe strategic blow to the regime which undoubtedly overwhelms and tilt the previous balance of power in Iran in particular and the region in general.
