US Names Former Obama Aide as Biden’s Envoy on Iran


US Names Former Obama Aide as Biden’s Envoy on Iran

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Biden administration named Robert Malley, a former top adviser in the Obama administration, as special envoy for Iran, according to multiple sources.

Malley’s appointment by President Joe Biden could be announced as early as Thursday or Friday, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Malley was a key member of former Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the nuclear accord with Iran and world powers, an agreement that Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

“Secretary (of State) 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, Reuters reported.

Returning to the nuclear deal, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, was among Biden’s campaign promises after President Donald J. Trump withdrew from it in 2018.

Malley currently runs the International Crisis Group in Washington, a conflict resolution organization.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and six world states —the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China— and was ratified in the form of Resolution 2231, but in 2018 the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear pact as his administration pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy against Tehran.

The remaining European parties also failed to fulfill their end of the bargain and compensate for Washington’s absence. Since then, Iran has begun to take its own measures in response to the Western parties’ refusal to meet commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

However, Iran’s measures have been within the framework of the JCPOA and will not mean withdrawal from the deal.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with USA Today, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated that the Biden administration “must act quickly” before the opportunity to return to the 2015 agreement is no longer an option.

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