Biden’s Iran Envoy Is Placed on Unpaid Leave
The State Department placed President Biden’s envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, on unpaid leave on Thursday amid a reported review of Mr. Malley’s security clearance.
The State Department and Mr. Malley confirmed that he was on leave, with neither providing additional details. But Axios, CNN and Reuters reported that Mr. Malley’s security clearance had been placed under review.
In an earlier email to The New York Times, Mr. Malley said that he had been placed on leave but did not address related questions.
Mr. Malley, a veteran Middle East diplomat and analyst, is well known as an advocate of dialogue between the United States and Iran. As a senior official in the Obama White House, he was instrumental in the negotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which limited Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief.
Source: The New York Times
