“Tying the delisting of the IRGC to Iran promising to de-escalate in the region makes us look naive. For the IRGC, which admitted this week to firing rockets into Erbil, to promise to de-escalate regionally is about as credible as Putin saying Russia would not invade Ukraine,” tweeted Ross.
His comments followed a report by Barak Ravid of Axios, which said that the administration is considering the move in exchange for a commitment from Iran to de-escalate its spread of violence throughout the Middle East.
The US would monitor Iran's compliance with its agreement to de-escalate and would retain the option to restore the designation if Iran is not found to be in compliance, three Israeli officials and two US officials told Ravid.
Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal it signed with world powers, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018, but has held several rounds of indirect talks with the US on a return to the agreement.
There have been indications recently that a deal between Iran and world powers could be reached within days.
However, the talks were suspended on Friday and no timetable has been set for their resumption. READ MORE
