Daughter Of Former Iranian President Defends US Sanctions On IRGC

Outspoken former lawmaker Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani in Iran has said that the Revolutionary Guard, IRGC, should remain on the United States' terrorist list.

Speaking in the social audio app Clubhouse, the political activist added that removing the IRGC from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) is not in Iran's interest.

Negotiations to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal came to a halt in March as Tehran reportedly demanded that the IRGC be removed from the terrorist list.

Hashemi, who is the daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and a pro-reform politician, said "The IRGC fires missiles and announces that it was our job”.

Calling IRGC's actions detrimental for the country, she added, “The only way for the IRGC to return to the barracks is to keep them on the sanctions list”.

What the Iranian society gets from IRGC is negative consequences and this must be stopped at some point, she noted.

Hashemi is known for her critical remarks about the Islamic Republic, its leaders, and policies. Her father, who for decades was the second most powerful man in the Islamic Republic, helped bring Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to power in 1989 and allowed the IRGC to become an economic player in the country.

US opponents of removing the IRGC from the FTO – including lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, as well as current and former American officials and military leaders -- have urged President Joe Biden not to take such a move.