An advisor to Iran’s supreme leader asserted that “the IRGC should be removed from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTO). The IRGC is a national army and no national army can be considered a terrorist group”. The same day, a senior U.S. diplomat underscored that “regardless of what happens to the IRGC… our view of the IRGC, the sanctions, and many other sanctions on the IRGC will remain… This is not a deal that seeks to resolve that issue”.