TEHRAN – The commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said on Thursday that there is no Iranian forces in the Iraqi city of Mosul to fight ISIS because there is no need of it.

“We have no Iranian forces in Mosul’s (war) front, because the Iraqi forces are acting so powerfully that there is no need of the Iranian forces,” Mohammad Ali Jafari told reporters on the sidelines of the Malek Ashtar festival.

Elsewhere, he said the IRGC will support any decision being taken by Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the government or the parliament if the U.S. violates the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name for the nuclear deal.

The Supreme Leader warned on Wednesday that if Washington renews a 10-year extension of existing sanctions against Iran before disbanding for the year, Iran will “definitely” react as it breaches the terms of the nuclear deal. 

“…if these sanctions are extended, it will definitely be a violation of BARJAM (JCPOA) and they (the Americans) should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to that,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at a meeting with hundreds of Basij forces in Tehran.

On November 15, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a clean, 10-year extension to the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by a vote of 419 to 1, mounting pressure on the Senate to follow suit. Senate Democrats favored a 10-year extension akin to the House’s measure.
 
Also, in a campaign speech in March to a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington U.S. president-elect Donald Trump claimed that his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran”. However, he later backed down from his rhetoric saying it was difficult to violate a deal which has been approved by the UN Security Council.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on November 9 that the JCPOA is a “multilateral agreement” and that she is tasked to guarantee its full implementation.

EU foreign ministers also issued a statement on November 14 reiterating the 28-nation bloc’s “resolute” commitment to the implementation of the nuclear agreement.

NA/PA