Biden’s Pick for Iran Affairs Sparks Fight in U.S.

WASHINGTON (Kayhan intl.) -- A fight may be looming in the United States over the potential nomination of Robert Malley, an outspoken proponent of diplomacy, as the Biden administration’s envoy for Iran, reports say.
Malley, an Obama-era diplomat, leads the International Crisis Group think tank, which focuses on preventing and resolving violent conflicts. His possible appointment has faced an early backlash from conservatives and earned the praise of advocates of the Iran nuclear deal.
Sina Toossi, a senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), said a well-funded and coordinated "network” of anti-Iran hawks that has been smearing advocates of diplomacy with Tehran has "drawn the line” on Malley.
"Rob Malley was the Obama administration’s chief nuclear negotiator - someone has experience negotiating with the Iranians, who is an actual diplomat,” Toossi told the Middle East Eye news website.
"These attacks are part of a broader effort against diplomacy with Iran, against reversing Trump’s disastrous approach towards Iran.”
The chatter, opposition and praise for Malley started last week when Jewish Insider reported that he was being considered for the position of special envoy for Iran.
Malley served in various senior capacities at the Obama White House, including as advisor to the campaign to defeat the Daesh group, Middle East coordinator at the National Security Council and special assistant to the president.
He was the lead U.S. negotiator in the talks that led to the Iran nuclear deal. The multilateral pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saw Iran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions against its economy which the West failed to fulfill.
Malley started his government service during the administration of former President Bill Clinton, where he served as senior aide on Arab-Israeli affairs and director of Near East and South Asian affairs at the National Security Council.
The former diplomat has been critical of Israeli policies against Palestinians.
In a Foreign Policy column he co-authored in April, Malley urged Biden to warn the Zionist regime against plans to annex parts of the West Bank, including by pledging to allow international criticism of Israeli actions and using U.S. aid as leverage.
Late in 2020, Malley criticized Trump’s efforts to reward Arab states who formalize relations with the occupying regime of Israel, including weapons deals to the UAE and recognizing Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara.
"All diplomacy is transactional, but these transactions are mixing things that ought not to have been mixed,” Malley told the New York Times.
Last week, the Zionist Organization of America, a right-wing pro-Israel group, slammed Malley’s rumored appointment, calling his views "extremely dangerous for the United States and our allies”.
Experts say Malley’s possible appointment will be a telling indicator of how Biden will deal with Tehran.