Joe Biden
Joe BidenReuters

Robert Malley, who served as a national security official in the Obama administration, is being considered for a position in the Biden administration as special envoy on Iran, sources with knowledge of the plans told Jewish Insider on Wednesday.

The report noted that Malley was critical of the targeted killing of top Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last November, saying that the attack would “make it all the more difficult for [Trump’s] successor to resume diplomacy with Iran.”

Malley met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2019 while the Iranian official was in New York attending meetings at the United Nations, the report said.

The Biden transition team declined to comment and noted that they do not presently have any personnel announcements.

During the term of former President Donald Trump, the US withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran, in turn, has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.

Biden has taken a different approach to the Iran deal than Trump and has expressed a desire to rejoin the agreement. He recently told The New York Times that he would do so if Iran returned to compliance with it.

Biden’s Secretary of State-designate Antony Blinken said at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday he would consult with US allies regarding the possibility of re-entering the nuclear deal with Iran.

Blinken said his approach would be to use the return to the 2015 nuclear deal as a “platform” for a broader agreement, but noted that “we’re a long way from there” at this time.