IRGC: Abandoning revenge for Soleimani is 'pure fantasy'

• 

Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, stressed Wednesday that the revenge for the assassination of martyr General Qassem Soleimani is “inevitable”.

Speaking at a gathering in Shiraz, Tangsiri said, "The enemy keeps sending messages that if we give up on avenging Soleimani, they will give us some concessions or lift some sanctions."

"This is pure fantasy," Tangsiri underscored.

The rear admiral revealed that Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei "has emphasized the need for [this] revenge," and IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami "has said that revenge is inevitable and that we will choose the time and place for it."

On January 3, 2020, the commander of Al-Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps, Major General Qassem Soleimani, and the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, were martyred by a US missile strike near Baghdad International Airport.

Washington: Tehran must address fears beyond JCPOA

In response to Tangsiri's statements, a US State Department spokesperson pointed out that "if Iran wants sanctions lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they will need to address concerns of ours beyond the JCPOA."

"Conversely, if they do not want to use these talks to resolve other bilateral issues beyond the JCPOA, then we are confident that we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin reimplementing the deal," the spokesperson considered.

Amir-Abdollahian: Path of diplomacy works efficiently

During a Thursday phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, Amir-Abdollahian pointed out that “the path of diplomacy works efficiently and we are not far from reaching a good and lasting agreement."

“We continue to exchange messages with Americans through the European Union. In doing so, we have reiterated time and again that the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t care for excessive demands [put forth by the US], nor will it back down on its red lines,” he told Mekdad.

At the beginning of this month, the Iranian Minister had confirmed that the lifting of some Iranian officials and IRGC figures from the sanctions list is the most important thing discussed in Vienna.

Read more: Amir-Abdollahian to Al Mayadeen: We will not accept any Israeli influence in the Gulf

Psaki: Talks underway to remove IRGC terrorist list

For her part, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said that talks are underway to remove the IRGC from the US terrorist list.

In an interview with the news service of the Iranian Parliament, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, highlighted on Wednesday that "the technical issues are over and being discussed in the Vienna talks and only political issues have remained which are followed up on by the Foreign Ministry."