US President Joe Biden has named Robert Malley as special US envoy for Iran, giving the veteran diplomat a leading role in one of the major foreign policy challenges facing the new administration.
Malley was a key member of former President Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and world powers, an agreement that former president Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 despite strong opposition from Washington’s European allies.
Malley will report directly to newly appointed Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Secretary Blinken is building a dedicated team, drawing from clear-eyed experts with a diversity of views. Leading that team as our Special Envoy for Iran will be Rob Malley, who brings to the position a track record of success negotiating constraints on Iran’s nuclear program,” a State Department official said.
When Malley’s name first surfaced in news reports as a leading candidate for the post, he drew criticism from some Republicans and pro-Israel groups that he would be soft on Iran and tough on Israel. But a number of foreign policy veterans praised him as a respected, even-handed diplomat.
The post would make Malley the point person in Biden’s efforts to deal with Iran after years of worsening relations under Trump, who, after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, reimposed crippling economic sanctions.
Read the article by Matt Spetalnick and Arshad Mohammed in The Canberra Times.