Exclusive: US Envoy Malley Met With Iran’s UN Ambassador
US State Department has not denied information by Iran International that US envoy Robert Malley held meetings in New York with Tehran's UN ambassador recently.
US State Department has not denied information by Iran International that US envoy Robert Malley held meetings in New York with Tehran's UN ambassador recently.
In response to questions, the State Department did confirm that messages are being delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran, even though the nuclear deal, JCPOA, “is not on the agenda.”
In response to questions submitted by Iran International on January 17, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, “We have the means to deliver specific and firm messages to Iran when it is in America’s interest to do so.”
Iran International had asked the DoS that according to information it obtained, US Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Saeed Iravani, “at least three times in the last two months.”
“But we're not going to get into details about how we deliver these messages, except to say that we do so in close coordination with allies and partners.”
In its response, the DoS did not deny or confirm Malley’s possible meetings with Tehran’s envoy but underlined that the US has its channels to communicate messages to the Iranian side.
Iran International followed up with the specific question to the State Department on January 18, “Just to confirm that you are not denying that meetings between Mr. Iravani and Mr. Malley took place in recent months in NY.”
A second response received from a spokesperson repeated that “As we have said, we have the means to deliver messages to Iran when it is in our interest to do so.”
“I am not going to get into details about how we deliver these messages, but we do so in close coordination with allies and partners and make no apologies for delivering them firmly and consistently,” the spokesman responded.
Regarding the content of these messages, spokesperson Ned Price, in the first response on January 17, said, “We have consistently conveyed three messages: stop killing peaceful protesters, stop selling weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians, and release the Americans you’ve wrongfully detained. We also use any available opportunity to make clear that we will take necessary steps to protect American citizens.”
If Malley did meet Iravani face-to-face, it would be the first reported direct meeting between US and Iranian diplomats since the Biden administration assumed office and offered talks to revive the JCPOA. Iran has consistently refused direct talks with the United States.
If any indirect talks took place between Malley and Iravani, for example, through European diplomats, the State Department chose not to specify it, except saying that Washington has the means to deliver messages to Tehran.
Asked to comment on the news, Richard Goldberg of the Washington thinktank FDD and the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council from 2019-2020, said, "A secret backdoor betrayal of the Iranian people at this moment should be condemned by all Americans. Congress should investigate these reports thoroughly and anyone involved should be compelled to testify."
Tehran’s deadly suppression of protests since mid-September and its delivery of kamikaze drones to Russia, being used to attack Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, have heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and Western powers. Also, 18 months of talks to restore the 2015 nuclear accord reached a deadlock right before protests broke out in Iran.
European countries and institutions are debating about listing the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, which would further reduce the chances of any foreseeable improvement in relations.
While Iran can free some of the thousands of detained prisoners, the ongoing violations of human rights both inside and outside the prisons are so widespread, that the whole security and judicial system must be overhauled before any meaningful change takes place.
In addition, Iran is not expected to end its close military and other types of cooperation with Russia, to satisfy Western demands before any nuclear talks can be resumed.
The European Parliament has been discussing a resolution to condemn the Islamic Republic’s human rights violations and its destabilizing activities, including the military support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, since Monday. Following the plenary session to debate the listing of the IRGC, the 700 members of the body will put to vote the resolution that would call for the designation of Iran’s Guards on Thursday.
However, the resolution seems to be bound for approval as an amendment that calls for the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on the EU’s terrorist list was approved with an overwhelming majority on Wednesday. Nearly 600 members out of the 638 who were attending the session voted to adopt a phrase that “calls for the EU and its Member States to include the IRGC on the EU's terrorist list in the light of its terrorist activity, the repression of protesters and its supplying of drones to Russia.” The amendment which was proposed by the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR Group) has become part of the European Parliament report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy.
The European Parliament cannot decide to designate the IRGC because the terrorists list is not a list decided by the Parliament itself but by the EU Council, comprised of ministers of each EU country. If the resolution garners enough support, it is then upon the national governments of the EU member states to make the final decision. The listing of the IRGC must have a unanimous vote by all 27 EU members in the EU Council.
The fear of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization – similar to that the United states id in 2019 and on the agenda in the United Kingdom, seems to be a big concern for the regime -- prompting officials to threaten European countries over the consequences of such a move.
Hardliner Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Esmail Kowsari, himself a former IRGC commander, said Wednesday that Euope might not be able to withstand the consequences of such a move. “EU officials know that this conspiracy was designed upon the instigation of the US and the Zionist regime (Israel) and has no logic,” he claimed.
“The European Union and European countries must prove their independence from America and oppose any action against the IRGC; If they want to return to the JCPOA and negotiate with Iran, they know that such actions can close the door to any dialogue and negotiation,” Kowsari added. He added the IRGC is one of the most powerful military institutions and organizations in the world, such a measure cannot limit it.
European countries prioritized diplomacy with the Islamic Republic in the hope of concluding a nuclear deal. Talks in Vienna to revive the deal, officially known as the JCPOA came to an abrupt stop in March 2022, reportedly for Iran’s insistence that the IRGC be removed from the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). Later talks elsewhere failed to bring about an agreement.
Also on Wednesday, Mahmoud Nabavian, a cleric and a hardliner politician representing a constituency near Tehran at the parliament, said the European Union wants to be in line with the United States, and impose additional sanctions against the IRGC. He added that “Nowhere in the world is it customary to sanction the military force of a country,” slamming former US President Donald Trump for creating such a precedent.
Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, once again condemned the regime’s crackdown on dissent, including the execution of protesters as well as British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari. “The internal situation in Iran continues to be a source of great concern. The current uprisings reveal deep frustration. The key demands of the current protests are respect for fundamental human rights, dignity, and real change,” he said.
“Over the past three months, the Council added 60 individuals and 8 entities to the list of those subject to restrictive measures due to their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to the ensuing demonstrations. And let me state clearly that this approach will continue as long as necessary, as outlined in the Council Conclusions adopted in December,” he added.
Expressing support for listing IRGC as a terrorist group, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, “The actions of the Iranian regime are atrocious and horrible, and they are trampling fundamental human rights with their feet, so it is unbelievable what we are seeing, what is happening in Iran and that needs a very strong message and a very strong reaction. And therefore, we are looking indeed at a new round of sanctions, and I would support also listing the Revolutionary Guards. I have heard several ministers asking for that and I think they are right."
The European Union is discussing a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over the crackdown and its supply of weapons to Russia. Diplomatic sources have told Reuters that more members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will be added to the sanctions list next week.
On Monday, more than 12 thousands of Iranians from across Europe gathered outside the headquarters of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in northeastern France to urge the European Union to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would mean that it would become a criminal offence to belong to the group, attend its meetings, and carry its logo in public.
So far over 500 protesters have been killed by security forces, mainly consisting of the IRGC and its Basij militia. Four protesters have been executed so far by the state after hasty trials devoid of any regard for due process. Others are on death row.
Academic Mehdi Zakerian told Ropydad24 website January 17, that the Iranian government's only solution for its foreign policy crisis is to garner the nation's support and trust. However, he noted that the country's rulers can always choose between the people and their unilateral decision making.
Zakerian explained that in modern politics, the country's national interests are the same as the nation's demands. He said government employees, workers, those who run a business, teachers, nurses and the like are finding it difficult to make ends meet, but President Ebrahim Raisi speaks on the state television in a way as if all the problems have been solved and the country's long-standing recession has ended.
In the area of foreign policy, Iran needs balanced relations with all other countries. Foreign relations are based on meeting both sides' needs. But when one country has more needs, other countries can take advantage of it. As an example, he said, "Russia is using Iran as a tool to get itself out of the quagmire."
Zakerian added that Russia wishes to prolong Iran’s nuclear dispute with the West so that it can extract more concessions from Iran. It can also dictate its own policy about oil and gas trade on Tehran by promising to rescue “Iran from its international isolation.” He said, "Russia is using Iran as its bridge to victory, although there is no prospect for Putin's victory in Ukraine."
The pundit argued that some Iranian decision-makers may know about this situation, but Tehran's isolation leaves no other option for it than going toward Russia and China. "At the time being, Russia is entangled in a self-inflicted situation in Ukraine and China has boldly set aside Iran and embraced Arab states.
Zakerian pointed out that because of Tehran's violations of its commitment under the JCPOA and insistence on boosting uranium enrichment it can no longer call for an agreement with the United States even if some officials genuinely wish to reach a deal. Meanwhile, like many Iranian analysts, Zakerian also said that the ongoing protests in Iran and the government's violent crackdown on dissent has sharply reduced its power on the international scene.
As a result, he said, Europe, the United States and China are no longer interested in continuing talks over the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Other reports in Iranian media had said earlier that even Iran's neighbors no longer take their relations with Tehran seriously. Iraqi officials have undermined Baghdad's friendship with Tehran by insisting on calling the Persian Gulf "the Arabian Gulf."
On the other hands China’s President Xi Jinping challenged Iran's ownership of three Persian Gulf islands during a recent visit to Riyadh in December. In the most recent development, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol characterized Iran as the United Arab Emirate's prime enemy during a recent visit to Abu Dhabi.
Iran’s foreign minister Amir-Abdollahian was harshly criticized by some Iranian politicians and social media activists last week for promising to send free oil to Lebanon via the Hizballah group while people in Iran are hit by one of the hardest cold weathers in several years.
According to international relations expert Mehdi Zakerian, the only way out of this disgraceful situation for Tehran's leaders is to get the nation involved in decision making on key issues such as returning to the JCPOA, doing away with the morality police and resolving other domestic and international issues. However, to get people involved in decision making cannot be done overnight. It requires essential reforms, free and fair elections, transparency, accountability and controlling the heavy-handed security forces and judiciary that do not allow any voice other than that of pro-government hardliners to be heard.
He also vowed that Islamic Republic's deadly violations of rights in its crackdown of widespread protests will not go unpunished.
Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also voiced support for the Iranian people.
“We’ll keep standing with the brave Iranians who are standing up for their own basic rights led by young women – all of this in the face of extraordinary repression,” he said as the protest movement entered its fifth month.
"We were appalled by the execution of Mr. Akbari just as we've been appalled by everything we've been seeing on the streets of Iran over the last months since these protests began: mass arrests, sham trials, the executions, the use of sexual violence as a tool for protests' suppression," Blinken said at the news conference.
"These abuses will not go without consequence. Together with many other countries, we've been moving forward with a variety of unilateral actions, multilateral measures, using UN mechanisms, to try to hold Iran to account," he added.
Akbari, 61, a British-Iranian national who once served as Tehran's deputy defence minister, was handed a death sentence on charges of spying for Britain.
London has said the charges against him were politically motivated. It repeatedly called for his release. Following the execution, it imposed sanctions on Iran's Prosecutor General.
Cleverly thanked the United States for its support. “I’m very grateful to the United States of America for publicly condemning the execution and for Secretary Blinken expressing his condolences in our meeting a few moments ago,” the foreign secretary said.
What was also notable, was Cleverly’s emphasis on Iran’s activities outside its borders in regional countries and its supply of kamikaze drones to Russia used against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
“For years, Iran’s leadership have inflicted bloodshed on their regional neighbors by arming and supporting military extremists and militias. Now Iran has gone further and supplied Russian with the drones that were used to kill civilians in Ukraine. And the UK will join with the US and other allies to hold the Iranian regime to account for the violations of the rights of their own people and by making themselves accomplices to Putin’s assault on Ukraine,” British foreign minister said.
As nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the West have reached a deadlock, both Tehran’s crackdown on people and its foreign policy have become major stumbling blocks to resuming negotiations. Cleverly’s mention of these factors shows that the West will insist on a major change of behavior by Tehran for any renewed diplomacy.
Cleverly made this point very clear: They call – they call for us, for the US, for us, and our friends to lift sanctions. And the point that we have made is that if they want to see those sanctions removed, they have to fundamentally change their behavior.
At the same time he left the door open for dialogue with Tehran. “But we will continue to speak to Iran where we’re able to and we hope that at some point soon they will listen properly to what we’re saying…”
Blinken in turn repeated Washington’s position that it was Tehran’s fault the nuclear talks came to a halt and the US is now focused on what is happening inside the country and not on the nuclear issue. He also emphasized President Joe Biden’s position, “that Iran never acquire a nuclear weapon.”