Biden Administration Taps Veteran Envoy for Iran Talks, Defying Hawks

By Staff, Agencies

The new US administration named Rob Malley, an architect of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, as its special envoy to resume talks with Tehran, defying pressure from hawks who accuse him of being too conciliatory toward the Islamic republic.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "is building a dedicated team, drawing from clear-eyed experts with a diversity of views," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

"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," he said.

Malley, a childhood friend of Blinken, has been serving as head of the International Crisis Group, an independent non-governmental organization focused on conflict resolution.

Before that, he was one of the chief negotiators on the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, under which Tehran was promised economic relief for major curbs in its contested nuclear program.

The deal was reached under Barack Obama, when President Joe Biden was his number two, and was unilaterally withdrawn by former President Donald Trump in 2018.