Robert Malley will be tasked with finding a way to deal with Iran again after Trump escalates tensions.
The Biden administration is expected to name Robert Malley, then senior foreign policy adviser – President Barack Obama, as his special ambassador to Iran, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Thursday.
Malley’s appointment with President Joe Biden could be announced as early as Thursday or Friday, one source said, referring to an anonymous condition.
When Malley’s name first appeared in press reports as a prime candidate for the post, he drew criticism from some Republican lawmakers and anti-Israel groups who expressed concern that he would be soft on Iran and sorry for Israel . But a number of veterans ran a foreign defense policy.
Malley’s role at the very beginning will put one of Biden’s most feared foreign policy challenges: finding a way to deal with Iran after years of worsening relations under former President Donald Trump. A diplomatic news website initially reported on Malley’s expected career.
Malley served under Obama and was a key part of the team that negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and world powers, an agreement that Trump withdrew in 2018.
He has held a number of senior positions for the Obama Democratic administration and former President Bill Clinton with a focus on Middle East and Gulf policy-making.
Most recently, he was president of the International Emergency Group, a nonprofit organization with a focus on global conflict.
Trump withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal as his administration pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy against Tehran. Since then, Iran has begun enriching uranium at a faster rate, coming closer to being able to make nuclear weapons.
New Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the Biden administration will seek a renewal of the nuclear deal with a “longer and stronger agreement” than the agreement with Iran from the United Nations.
Blinken also said the new administration wants an end to the war in Yemen.
The U.S. Republican in Congress opposes Biden’s renewed diplomacy sought by Iran to add to the difficulties Malley had to navigate.
Relations between the US and Iran have been tense since the US assassination of Trump’s orders from Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.