Biden reportedly names Malley as Iran envoy

Robert Malley was a key member of former President Barack Obama’s team that negotiated the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran or the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

A source in the State Department has told Reuters Secretary Blinken will nominate the veteran diplomat Malley as the Special Envoy for Iran, hoping that he will once again be able to have successful negotiations with Tehran.

Iran has so far strongly ruled out any possibility of a new deal or any renegotiating the JCPOA. It has also declared that if the sanctions, which the previous US administration imposed after unilaterally and unlawfully left the deal in May 2018, are not lifted it will resume high-level uranium enrichment and will expel the IAEA inspectors in accordance with the content of the JCPOA.

The Iranian parliament passed a bill, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions in early last December, giving Washington two months to lift the sanctions. It became a law after the Guardian Council approved the parliament’s decision.

Iran has so far resumed 20% uranium enrichment at Fordow plant in accordance with the Parliament’s legislation and has warned that in the case Washington does not remove all the anti-Iran sanctions, it will also stop voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol, which gives IAEA inspectors unannounced visits to Iranian facilities.

KI