No EU Agreement On IRGC Listing Despite US Saying No Way Back For JCPoA

AP reporting that the EU is set to impose new sanctions on 37 Iranian individuals and entities in response to the crackdown on protests that have taken place across Iran in recent months. EU foreign ministers meet at a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday 23 January where the decision is set to be confirmed. However, there remains no consensus at the EU level of whether to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist group, which would enable the application of significant sanctions on the IRGC, its leaders, and those working alongside the Iranian gov't.

• AP writes that the hesitation comes, "...despite calls from Germany and other member states to take the step. Iran has warned the bloc against taking the move and EU officials are wary that it could kill off stalled attempts to revive the 2015 deal on Tehran's nuclear programme being mediated by Brussels. "I think it's not a good idea because it prevents you from going ahead in other issues," a senior EU official said."
• The prospect of the Iran nuclear deal coming back into operation is extremely slim, On 17 Jan, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said “The Iranians killed the opportunity to come back to that agreement swiftly many months ago,”