The Iran Appeasement Team Is Back in Place

It’s official, Joe Biden has announced his pick to serve as the administration’s Special Envoy for Iran.

Surprise, surprise — It’s Rob Malley.

Malley is a former Mideast advisor to President Barack Obama.

Malley was actively involved with the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

He was a key architect of the deeply flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), so it should come as no surprise that he's a trong supporter of returning to the JCPOA deal that President Trump wisely withdrew from.

Additionally, Malley spoke out against the Trump administration’s bold and courageous decision to assassinate the Iran Guard Corps (IRGC) General Qasem Soleimani.

Malley had this to say: "From Iran’s perspective, it is hard to imagine a more deliberately provocative act."

At the time, he was the president and chief executive of the International Crisis Group.

Malley elaborated, "And it is hard to imagine that Iran will not retaliate in a highly aggressive manner."

"Whether President Trump intended it or not, it is, for all practical purposes, a declaration of war."

Malley’s pal, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, had this to say:

He deemend the killing of Gen. Soleimani an act of "international terrorism" and warned it was "extremely dangerous and a foolish escalation."

It’s almost like they coordinated their response. If they did, there's no suprise here.

Malley has a long history of appeasing Iranian Regime officials.

He’s like a younger version of John Kerry.

Like Kerry, Malley has purportedly engaged in shadow diplomacy during the Trump administration. It’s been reported that Malley met with Javad Zarif on multiple occasions over the last four years. This shadow diplomacy should be of grave concern to all Americans, as well as to our allies in the region.

So while the Trump administration worked day and night to increase pressure on the Iranian Regime through their maximum pressure campaign of economic sanctions, and also by creating peace in the Mideast between Israel and leading Gulf States such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — Malley was working behind the scenes to keep his friendship with Zarif warm and active.

There is a reason that the Iranian Regime signaled their excitement regarding a possible Biden administration during last year’s election.

They were ecstatic because they received assurances behind the scenes from Kerry, Malley, and perhaps others, that Biden would re-enter the JCPOA and do more to grow relations between the U.S. and Iran.

In a recent Newsmax column, I argued that Kerry was wrong in 2015 to sign the deal in the first place.

Thus, Kerry will be wrong again in 2021.

Similarly, Malley will act erroneously, just like Kerry, by re-entering the JCPOA.

So what’s next between US-Iran relations?

Can we expect to see the U.S. rejoin the JCPOA in the next 60 days while also loosening the strong economic sanctions that President Trump’s administration put in place.

Doing either of these things amounts to a catastrophic mistake and will further destabilize the region. The Iranian Regime is the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism.

They are not enriching uranium for nuclear power to bring energy solutions to the Iranian people --- they are enriching for the purposes of a nuclear bomb.

The Iranian Regime has the blood of thousands of innocent Arabs, Christians and Jews on their hands. President Biden and his team would be wise to take a strong stance against the Iranian Regime, not embrace them.

They are ruthless leaders who chant Death to America, Death to Israel, while putting the well-being of their terrorist network well above the needs of the Iranian people themselves.

President Biden: The Iranian Regime is not a friend of or to America. Act accordingly.

Bryan E. Leib is currently serving as Chairman of HaShevet, a Jewish and Israel advocacy group. Formerly, he served as the National Director for Americans Against Antisemitism and he was the 2018 Republican Endorsed Congressional Candidate for PA-03 (Philadelphia, PA). He has served as a Board Member for organizations such as: United Way, National Museum of American Jewish History, Jewish National Fund, the Philadelphia Young Republicans and the Camden Youth Soccer Club. He tweets at @Bryan_E_Leib. Read Bryan E. Leib's Reports — More Here.