President Donald Trump's emerging agreement with Iran faces a critical hurdle after negotiations reached the highest levels of Iran's leadership: winning the backing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has yet to endorse the deal, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday.
The Revolutionary Guard is widely viewed as the most powerful institution in Iran, controlling military, intelligence, and economic assets that could determine whether any agreement with Washington succeeds or fails.
Founded after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the country's clerical system, the IRGC has grown into a military, political, and economic powerhouse whose influence often rivals that of Iran's elected government.
The force oversees Iran's ballistic missile program, commands elite military units, directs intelligence operations, and controls the Quds Force, which manages Tehran's relationships with allied terrorist groups across the Middle East.
Unlike Iran's civilian negotiators, who can strike diplomatic bargains, the IRGC controls many of the security institutions responsible for implementing policies on the ground.
The Journal reported that proposed terms under discussion include Iranian commitments to forgo nuclear weapons, dispose of enriched uranium stockpiles, and limit support for regional proxy groups in exchange for sanctions relief and access to frozen assets.
Those issues fall squarely within areas traditionally overseen by the Revolutionary Guard, making its support essential to the success of any agreement.
The Journal reported that some IRGC commanders remain deeply skeptical of negotiations with the U.S. after decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran.
According to the Journal, Majid Mousavi, the Revolutionary Guard commander responsible for Iran's missile and drone programs, recently declared that "negotiation with the enemy is pure loss."
The IRGC's influence extends well beyond military affairs.
The organization controls or exerts influence over significant portions of Iran's economy, including major interests in construction, energy, telecommunications, and infrastructure projects, giving it substantial leverage over national policymaking.
The Journal reported that Guard officials have sought broad security guarantees as part of the negotiations, including assurances designed to prevent a return to hostilities.
The issue has taken on added significance after months of conflict elevated the stature of Iran's military leadership and strengthened hardline factions that have long viewed engagement with the U.S. with suspicion.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led Tehran's negotiating team, said this week that discussions had reached a stage where "important decisions" would have to be made by Iran's leadership, according to Iranian state media.
Trump has repeatedly signaled that an agreement may be within reach and said this week that negotiations had advanced to the highest levels of Iran's government.
But the Journal reported that even if Iranian negotiators approve a deal, it could face significant obstacles without the support of the IRGC, whose military and security apparatus would play a central role in carrying out its terms.
"The guard is not just another branch of government," former U.S. officials and Iran analysts told the Journal. "It is one of the principal centers of power in the Islamic Republic."
For that reason, the fate of any Trump-brokered agreement may depend not only on the diplomats at the negotiating table, but also on whether Iran's most powerful military institution decides the deal serves its interests.