The IRGC Reacts to the Nuclear Deal

After more than a week of silence, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has weighed in on the nuclear agreement Tehran signed last week with the P5+1 negotiators. IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari gave a bellicose interview to the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency on Monday that casts doubt on Tehran’s long-term commitment to the agreement.

First, Jafari asserted, “No Iranian official is opposed to negotiations and a good deal,” and dismissed the idea that there are disagreements among Iran’s ruling elites over the deal. However, he then proceeded to slam the UN Security Council resolution approved unanimously the same day: “Some elements in the draft are specifically contrary and opposed to the major red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular concerning arms capabilities, and we will never accept it.”

“Any resolution that would be in contradiction to our country’s red lines will have no validity,” he added, and recommended the Security Council not “waste its time” passing a resolution that violates Tehran’s terms. Finally, Jafari attacked the “fundamentally arrogant and savage nature of the Americans,” and “their lapdog the Zionist regime.”

What Jafari did not note was that the IRGC is poised to gain most from the agreement. Sanctions relief to Guards members and entities will make it easier for him and his cohorts to operate in the open again, after years of backchannel deals to evade international sanctions.

The IRGC chief’s denunciation of the UN resolution and his invective against the United States and Israel are both signals that he and the Guards will continue to defy international norms and do not feel bound by the agreement. In other words, the IRGC intends to benefit from the accord while also reserving the right to ignore it.

Considering that his criticisms echo those of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – who also insisted that parts of the agreement and the UN resolution may violate Iran’s sovereignty – Jafari’s statement isn’t bold.  It is simply a clear sign that the Guards threaten this deal, whether the West wishes to acknowledge it or not. 

Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Find him on Twitter: @Alfoneh