ON JUNE 29 IRAN INTERNATIONAL BROKE THE NEWS THAT CONTROVERSIAL US SPECIAL ENVOY TO IRAN ROB MALLEY WAS SUSPENDED AND HIS SECURITY CLEARANCE STATUS WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION. THIS WAS NOT REVEALED TO CONGRESS WHICH HAD BEEN TRYING TO EXERCISE ITS OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY.
Pictured: Then Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif meeting with John Kerry, Rob Malley and others . Malley is wearing spectacles and tie and grinning at Zarif.
Stop Iran Now/Iran International 07/03/2023
On June 29 Iran International broke the news that US special envoy Robert Malley was suspended, and his security clearance status was under investigation.
On Monday Javid Qorbanoghli, a former Iranian diplomat was quoted as saying by Entekhab website in Tehran that Malley could have helped Iran resolve the nuclear issue. He added that Malley “was on our side” and his talks during secret meetings with Iran’s UN ambassador Saeed Iravani in New York had made progress.
“Malley, as the top person in this [nuclear] file and chief [US] negotiator was on our side, and in talks with Iravani took steps to free frozen assets [in exchange] for prisoners and…”
Malley has been accused of granting wide-ranging concessions to Iran’s regime as part of a clandestine and legally dubious accord which rubberstamps the brutal regime’s enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade in substantial violation of JCPOA limits and could provide (and may have already provided in whole or in part) as much as $17 billion in sanctions relief. The Biden Administration had apparently intended to keep the arrangement hidden from Congress and the American people and complete the steps in a piecemeal fashion in an effort to avoid Congressional oversight .
Malley was suspended as early as the beginning of May, but the State Department did not share the information with Congress. The State Department had apparently been less than promp - and less than forthright in responding to Congressional subpoenas.
From the time Malley was appointed as special envoy by President Joe Biden in early 2021, many observers said that he was sympathetic toward the Islamic Republic and not a suitable choice. Malley had been initially shunned by then President Obama because of he was known as an apologist for Hamas, an Iranian-affiliated terror proxy whose charter calls for the murder of Jews everywhere and for the unconditional non-negotiable annihilation of the Jewish state.
However, Malley was soon brought onboard and played a key role in engineering the 2015 JCPOA agreement that facilitated Iran’s development of nuclear weapons; provided the then-financially strapped regime with a financial lifeline of $55 billion and did nothing to address its human rights violations, international terrorism or sponsorship of Assad’s genocide in Syria.
Many were shocked and dismayed when Malley was given charge of the Iran portfolio under Joe Biden. It soon became clear that the Administration’s promise of a “longer and stronger deal” was empty and another mass capitulation was in the works. Several members of Malley’s negotiating team resigned last year in protest of the weakness and unexplicability of his negotiating positions.
There was universal outrage when it was discovered that the Biden Administration and Malley were allowing the Russians to negotiate with Iran on behalf of the United States after the Russians had invaded Ukraine.This blatant hypocrisy and embarrassing revelation led to a temporary halt in public negotiations which were then resumed in secret.
While the Administration pays lip service to the Iranian freedom fighters who took to the streets in the aftermath of the murder of Mahsa Amini they secretly negotiated with their brutal oppressors in secret meetings in Oman. Malley angered the Iranian dissident community when he remarked that the protestors 'were seeking respect from the regime' when it was clear from the protests that the stated goal was to replace the brutal tyrannical regime with a democratic one. Prominent dissident leader Mahsi Alinejad led a grassroots petition to remove Malley from his position which has garnered over 135,000 signatures (we encourage YOU to sign her petition).
United Against Nuclear Iran chairman, former Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, and its CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, said following regarding the Malley suspension,
"The status quo of allowing the executive branch to direct Iran policy on its own and in a partisan manner has been a slow-rolling disaster for nearly a decade. This can be a turning point if Congress asserts itself and exercises its authority on a bipartisan basis, and we urge both parties to recognize the gravity of the situation and act accordingly."
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., issued a Twitter thread with questions about Malley’s alleged misconduct and when Biden and Blinken first had knowledge of the accusations against the special envoy.
1) When did the investigation that led to the suspension of Malley's clearance begin?\
2) When were @SecBlinken & @POTUS informed of it?
3) Why did they allow Malley to continue in his diplomatic role while under investigation?
Hagerty also asked, "Why did they allow Malley to continue in his diplomatic role while under investigation?"
The Tennessee senator further wrote, "Malley’s contacts with Hamas & other extremist groups raised concerns in the past. Knowing his background & views, why did @Potus and & @SecBlinken select Malley for this sensitive position in the first place?"
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul sent a letter demanding more information from the White House about Malley’s status.
We urge all of our Ambassadors to contact the White House and the State Department - to demand the termination of Rob Malley as US Special Envoy to Iran - to cease negotiations and impose maximum pressure on the regime - and to declare clear and unequivocal support for the Iranian people.
We also urge our Ambassadors to contact their congressmen and senators and express their concern about this issue - and to urge them to endorse the ACTION PLAN put forth by the policy experts at Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
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