After the publication of leaks indicating the new US President Joe Biden's intention to choose Robert Malley, the current head of the International Crisis Group and the former Middle East official in the National Security Council in the administration of former President Barack Obama, to become a special envoy to Iran, a fierce campaign began against Mali against the backdrop of his well-known support for the course. The diplomat in dealing with Iran.

The campaign began with an opinion piece on the Bloomberg News website written by Eli Lake, known for his close proximity to the politics of the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

In his article, he said, "Mali's choice means that Biden's first foreign policy mistake will be Iran."

Lake's argument was that Mali - who has known in the corridors of foreign policy in Washington for the last quarter of a century - has a long record of appeasing America's enemies, and he is exactly the wrong person in such a position, or at least it would be if the Biden team's goal was not to rewind. Time to January 2017.

The Bloomberg article noted that Mali's positions contradict the intentions of two other top Biden administration officials, his National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's candidate.

Tom Cotton, Republican Senator from Arkansas, said in a tweet that President Biden is considering appointing Robert Malle to direct US policy towards Iran. Mali has a long record of sympathy with the Iranian regime and hostility to Israel. The ayatollahs in Tehran will not believe their luck if He has been chosen, appointing extremists like Mali will give him the opportunity to lie to President Biden and Tony Blinken. "

It's deeply troubling that President Biden would consider appointing Rob Malley to direct Iran policy.

Malley has a long track record of sympathy for the Iranian regime & animus towards Israel.

The ayatollahs wouldn't believe their luck if he is selected.

https://t.co/caxHhiXjKn

- Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 22, 2021

Twelve former hostages held in Iran, in addition to a number of human rights activists, also sent a letter to Biden's secretary of state urging him to choose Mali in the administration, because that "would send a frightening signal to the dictatorship in Iran that the United States is only focusing on re-entry." Regarding the Iranian nuclear agreement, and ignoring its regional terrorism and its internal crimes against humanity, "as they put it.

Many experts in research centers opposed to negotiations with Iran, such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Hudson Institute, have also expressed widespread criticism of Robert Malley.

Biden wants to negotiate, however

And President Biden had indicated during his election campaign that he would once again join the nuclear agreement "as a starting point for negotiations again if Iran returned to strict compliance with its provisions," stressing his desire to work on "strengthening and expanding the terms of the nuclear agreement, while addressing other issues of concern." Such as Iran's ballistic missile program, human rights violations, and "destabilizing activity."

In recent weeks, new Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jacques Sullivan have begun to adopt hard-line positions on Iran.

The two officials gave the impression on several occasions that they are not in a hurry for the United States to re-enter the Iranian nuclear deal from which the administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew, or to lift the sanctions imposed during the past four years.

Blinken and Sullivan demanded that Iran show some goodwill on the nuclear issue first.

Moreover, they also acknowledge that America's goal should be to renegotiate the agreement in order to ensure that Tehran is not eventually allowed to build a nuclear weapon.

For her part, the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Heinz, indicated during the confirmation hearing in the Senate that Iran is "a leading country to sponsor terrorism in the world."

In an article on Foreign Affairs, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif indicated that "there can be no re-negotiation," calling for "the lifting of the US sanctions imposed by President Trump on his country."

Zarif proudly declared that "Iran has significantly increased its nuclear capabilities." Indeed, the International Atomic Energy Agency recently revealed that Iran has taken a decisive step to develop its nuclear program.

An extensive defense of Robert Malle

Months ago, Mali strongly condemned the killing of the chief Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and did not praise the killing of Qassem Soleimani a year ago, considering that this does not serve the American goals in the region.

After the Bloomberg article was published and the campaign against Mali began, many former officials and experts in US research institutes responded in defense of Robert Malley.

Their defense focused on the attack being greater than an attack on Robert Malle, but rather an attack on the diplomatic approach that President Biden chose to deal with Iran.

Mali's supporters considered that hard-liners in Washington began to pressure Biden early to test his adherence to his declared and positive stances towards re-negotiating with Iran.

Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official and expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was surprised that the militant attack was limited to Robert Malley.

Miller tweeted, "If the Republicans are unenthusiastic and unhappy, why don't they attack Biden, Blinken, Sullivan and Burns? Why would they choose Mali to attack him? That's great hypocrisy."

Roger that.

And if Rs are so unhappy, why not attack Biden, Blinken, Sullivan and Burns instead of beating up on Malley.

This is petty, political, smacks of hypocrisy.

https://t.co/10YJVYFcaO

- Aaron David Miller (@ aarondmiller2) January 22, 2021

An American diplomat said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that "the purpose of those who attack Robert Mali is not related to his ultimately obtaining the job or not. They aim and focus on spoiling any future agreement with Iran."

It is noteworthy that Biden nominated former official and diplomat William Burns as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Burns previously played a major role in the secret Obama administration's 2013 talks with Tehran that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Burns held the second position at the head of US diplomacy as Deputy Secretary of State, and he made shuttle negotiations with Mali in the Sultanate of Oman to meet with their Iranian counterparts.

The choice of Burns and Mali indicates Biden's determination to untangle the US-Iranian relationship through diplomatic and political tracks.