Malley At the Senate – The Moment Of Truth For Biden’s Iran Policy?
After a year of talks over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, today’s appearance by special envoy Rob Malley at the United States senate may prove decisive.
After a year of talks over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, today’s appearance by special envoy Rob Malley at the United States senate may prove decisive.
Malley is sure to be questioned, by supporters and opponents of the 2015 deal (the JCPOA, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), over Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett’s claim Tuesday that President Joe Biden has decided not to accept Iran’s demand that he drop the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) from the US list of ‘foreign terrorist organizations.’
Supporters of the JCPOA in the US argue that the listing, by President Donald Trump in 2019, was one of many measures intended to doom subsequent efforts to renew the deal, from which Trump withdrew the US in 2018. They also say the the killing of Iranian IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodayari was an attempt to inflame Iran’s leadership and undermine diplomacy.
Critics of the JCPOA say the IRGC listing reflects its regional role and alliances with Hezbollah, Ansar Allah in Yemen, armed Iraqi groups, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They take comfort from statements from State Department spokesman Ned Price that the issue of IRGC listing is separate from the nuclear negotiations and requires further assurances or concessions from Tehran.
Decision on IRGC listing
Bennett said Tuesday that Biden had informed him April 24 that he had decided not to remove the IRGC listing. Bennett sadi he had agreed not to reveal this but had done so once an article appeared in Politico.
While the Israeli leadership’s opposition to the JCPOA led to tensions with the incoming Biden administration, given the latter’s commitment to reviving the agreement, Bennett now described his recent contacts with Biden as close.
“I laud the US administration, and first and foremost my friend, President Joe Biden, on his intention to leave the Revolutionary Guards where they belong – on the terror list,” Bennett said Tuesday. “President Biden is a true friend of Israel who is concerned with its security and continued fortitude.”
With feelings in Tehran running high after the Sayyad-Khodayari assassination Sunday, and continued pressure for some retaliation for the US 2020 killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, the Iranian leadership has appeared wary of compromise and has insisted that the delisting of the Guards is a ‘red line’ in the nuclear talks.
A recent visit to Tehran by Enrique Mora, the senior European Union official chairing the year-long nuclear talks in Vienna between Iran and six world powers, raised hopes of a breakthrough but appears to have produced nothing tangible. Likewise, nothing evident has emerged from Qatari attempts at mediation.
Washington awaits
In Washington, senators eagerly await Malley’s appearance at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a variety of hopes and expectations.
“I want Rob Malley to give an honest assessment of the status of negotiations and make the case for why diplomacy is the only viable path to keep Iran from a nuclear weapon,” Connecticut’s Democrat Senator Chris Murphy told Iran International Tuesday. “I don't think the US or our allies should be involved in the business of assassination…ratcheting up political assassination frankly puts all of us at risk, and isn't a good practice for democratic nations.”
But Rick Scott, a Republican representing Florida, said the talks were at a dead end. “What I would hope to hear [from Malley] is that they're not going to do anything, because the Iranians still chant death to Israel…They still have death threats on American citizens.”
Reflecting a sense in Washington that Malley needed to clarify and explain the strategy of the Biden administration,Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville opposed renewing the JCPOA but ruled out military means. “There's no way we can allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he told Iran International. “No way.”
Gabriel Noronha, a State Department special Iran adviser during the Trump administration, said he expected Malley to be “raked over the coals.”
In an interview published on Didban Iran [Iran Monitor] website, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the former head of the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, went a step further and called Russia’s ambassador in Iran Levan Dzhagaryan a “persona non grata.” He said “any other country would have deported him for his behavior,” and added that Dzhagaryan (Jagaryan) has repeatedly undermined Iranians’ pride and values.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the envoy instructed Iranian reporters in Tehran on how to cover the event and not to use the word ‘war,’ instead to call it a ‘special military operation.’
Falahatpisheh also spoke about the country’s current economic crisis and argued that it has radicalized Iran to the extent of “making a nuclear bomb is now being turned into a topic for discussion in media reports.” He added that for some politicians this is being turned into political posturing. Falahatpisheh, however, did not point out any specific examples.
The moderate-conservative politician has made bold statements in recent months and it is not clear to what extent he has the blessing of at least some circles in the Islamic Republic hierarchy.
Falahatpisheh also charged that Russia has exceptionally benefitted from its obstruction of the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He further said that the JCPOA talks have not been frozen, but they have been overshadowed by events in Ukraine. Furthermore, Falahatpisheh warned that the developments in the next six months may irreparably damage the negotiations and turn it into a problem impossible to solve.
Explaining what may take place during the next six months, Falahatpisheh said that a series of regional and global crises might take shape as the West has tried all its devices against Russia and Moscow is adamant to continue its onslaught on Ukraine and beyond. On the other hand, Finland and Sweden are joining NATO and this will flare up a Cold War between Moscow and NATO.
He added that on the other hand, we should await other developments both in Iran and the United States. Biden might lose his support among Congressional Democrats and his decisions will face tougher challenges as Congress is already against the JCPOA.
Earlier, Falahatpisheh had charged that some media and politicians try to cover Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “crimes” in Ukraine. He also charged that Russia was against an international nuclear deal with Iran even before invading Ukraine.
He claimed that the mission of Moscow’s top negotiator in Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, was that no agreement would be signed before the invasion of Ukraine.
In March, Falahatpisheh suggested that Tehran should start direct talks with Washington to cut out mediators like Russia who pursue ulterior motives in the nuclear talks.
In yet another interview, Falahatpisheh called Tehran’s official support for Moscow a historic mistake that has led to Iran’s isolation in the international community.
In his recent interview, Falahatpisheh said that Islamic Republic officials have repeatedly sacrificed Iran’s interests for maintaining good relations with Russia. In three cases officials declared in the past that exporting Iran’s natural gas to Europe was not economically feasible. They did that only to protect Russia’s monopoly on gas exports to Europe, he said.
Speaking to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)-linked Tasnim news agency Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the Al Jazeera report on the Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani’s remarks have been misrepresented by some media outlets “by design”.
Citing Al Jazeera television, some Persian language media claimed Saturday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has shown willingness to make a compromise in the nuclear issue.
Qatar's foreign minister, Foreign Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said on Saturday in remarks cited by al Jazeera TV that the Iranian leadership expressed readiness for a compromise regarding "the Iranian nuclear file” during the May 12 visit of Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani s, to Tehran and his meetings with Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“The Iranian leadership told us they were ready for a compromise,” the Qatari-based TV quoted the Qatari foreign minister as saying.
Khatibzadeh said the Qatari foreign minister’s reference was to Iranian officials, not the Supreme Leader, and that Persian-language media used a translation of the word ‘compromise’ to suggest concessions rather than settlement of disagreements.
“The esteemed Leader of the Revolution never spoke of any compromise over the issue [in his meeting with the Qatari Emir],” Khatibzadeh said and quoted Khamenei as saying to the Qatari Emir that he has always said negotiations to restore the deal must be “result-oriented” and not “wasting time”. “The Americans know what they should do towards this end,” he quoted Khamenei as saying in the meeting.
"It is clear from the context of the Leader's remarks that [he was saying] that the ball is in the court of the United States, which must make a wise political decision to fulfil its obligations [under the 2015 nuclear deal]," Khatibzadeh said.
Al Jazeera also quoted Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani as saying that reaching common ground on the Iranian nuclear issue will boost stability in the Persian Gulf region and help oil markets. "Pumping additional quantities of Iranian oil to the market [if a deal is reached and sanctions on Iran are lifted] will help stabilize crude prices and reduce inflation," the minister said.
Iran’s crude oil exports have been under US sanctions since May 2018 when former President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
On Friday, Qatar’s Emir expressed optimism that an agreement between Washington and Tehran was achievable and said his country was prepared to help broker a deal.
Talks in Vienna to restore the JCPOA have stalled since mid-March. Major issues reportedly include Washington’s refusal to delist Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) which the Trump administration designated as a ‘foreign terrorist organization’. Iran also insists on avenging the US killing of IRGC’s Qods Force Commander Ghasem (Qasem) Soleimani who was killed in Baghdad in 2020 in a US targeted drone attack.
In recent weeks, regional countries including Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, which have good relations with Washington, have reportedly tried to mediate between Tehran and Washington. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to hold behind the scenes talks with Omani officials over the issue during his visit to Muscat Monday.
The EU Foreign Policy Chief Josef Borrell Saturday held a phone call with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, over the latest developments in the talks. After the phone call, Borrel warned in a tweet that the longer the talks in Vienna take, the more difficult it will be to conclude the negotiations.