But Malley, the son of a left-wing Arab Jew, is a well-known advocate of involvement with groups and governments – including, over the years, Hamas, Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – widely considered enemies of the United States, United States and Israel. and, by some, morally out of bounds for contact. To his critics, he openly suspects American power and openly sympathizes with foreign actors, including Iran and the Palestinians, who have deep disputes with the West.
As Biden’s sharpener for Iran, responsible for curbing his expanding nuclear program, these critics fear, Malley will push for a new deal with Tehran that will grant much to clerical rulers in the name of reconciliation. When news of his nomination first appeared in the media, Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, condemned “radicals like Malley” who, he said, has “a long history of sympathy for the Iranian regime” and “encouragement for Israel”.
Other opponents of negotiations with Iran have expressed concern in more moderate terms. “The appointment of Rob Malley may be a clear indication that the Biden government is prioritizing a return to the JCPOA rather than a policy of distributing American power to achieve a more compressive and permanent agreement,” said Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, referring to the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Global Action Plan, which he has long opposed. “Malley does not believe in American power,” he added.
Defenders of Malley, whose position does not require confirmation from the Senate, say he has become a convenient target for an initial salvo from the American and Israeli right with the aim of warning the Biden government against trying too hard to work with Tehran in another nuclear deal like the 2015 agreement that became one of the most bitter foreign policy battles of the Obama years.
“Most of Rob’s judgment comes from people who don’t know him and who choose to believe that he has no conception of American national interests and that it’s about trying to find a way at any cost to reconcile with our enemies.” said Aaron David Miller, a peace negotiator in the Middle East under several presidents who worked and is close to Malley.