Media Guide: Who’s Who in the Biden Administration on Iran
/By AIC Research Associate Allyson Socha
What is Joe Biden’s history with Iran?
Throughout his political career, Joe Biden has continuously encouraged improvement of relations between the U.S. and Iran. As a senator, Biden called for renewed relations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and outlined steps for the U.S. to increase direct communication with Iran. During a 2002 speech to the American Iranian Council, Biden expressed his belief that “an improved relationship with Iran is in the naked self-interest of the United States, and I would presume to suggest Iran’s interest as well.” Although the speech did not produce a drastic turning point in diplomacy, it served as a symbol of Biden’s approach towards the Islamic Republic of Iran in future years.
Even as relations declined over the next decades, Biden discouraged use of force in Iran in favor of pursuing diplomatic opportunities. During the George W. Bush administration, relations were particularly fraught given concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and expansion of Iranian influence in Iraq after the U.S. invasion of the country. At that time, some neoconservatives in the Bush administration were pushing for a military confrontation with Iran and Biden spoke forcefully against such an intervention, advocating instead for focus to remain on the military presence already established in Iraq. In 2007, he opposed an amendment to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group due to fears that Bush would use this label to justify a military conflict with Iran. Biden voiced his opposition to the Bush-era neoconservatism, which advocated the use of military force as the best combatant to weapons of mass destruction, and he has worked to shift Washington away from this doctrine and toward diplomatic efforts.
While serving as vice president under Barack Obama, Joe Biden saw the completion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 between Iran and a group of world powers including the U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia, and Germany. Under this agreement, also known as the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, Iran committed that its nuclear program would be “exclusively peaceful” and that it would never “seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.” Joe Biden worked to garner Congressional support of the 2015 deal as vice president with assurance on Capitol Hill that the JCPOA did not prevent future use of force against Iran if necessary. The deal was officially reached in July 2015, with Biden’s support of the foreign policy action as the most significant diplomatic achievement of the Obama administration.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden continued his commitment to diplomacy between the United States and Iran with a pledge to reenter the Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by President Trump in 2018. Biden previously criticized this move by Trump, stating the foreign policy goal “took years of sanctions pressure, painstaking diplomacy, and the full support of the international community” to accomplish. As a presidential candidate, Biden said he would rejoin the agreement and use it as an opportunity to further negotiations.
Since being elected, Biden has facilitated discussions with Iran about the possibility of the U.S. rejoining the JCPOA “without us making concessions that… we’re just not willing to make.” An outcome has not yet been reached, but recent talks in Vienna indicate progress towards a final agreement.
President Biden’s work on Iran, of course, is not a solo effort. The following individuals comprise the top officials in the administration involved in facilitating US foreign policy regarding Iranian and Middle East affairs more broadly.
Who is Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State?
Joe Biden appointed Antony Blinken, defender of global alliances and a longtime foreign policy adviser, as the U.S. Secretary of State. Blinken began his political career in the State Department during the Clinton administration, and worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Biden on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Under the Obama administration, Blinken served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013-2015 and Deputy Secretary of State from 2015-2017. On foreign policy, Antony Blinken is regarded as a “deeply knowledgeable and non-ideological consensus-builder, allowing the facts of each situation to guide his questions and advice and emphasizing process over advocacy.”
Blinken’s previous roles have allowed him a direct hand in formulating the U.S. response to instability in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Libya. During the Obama administration, he chaired foreign policy efforts in Afghanistan and Iran and built a coalition of countries to combat ISIS in the region. His career experience in foreign affairs, especially in the Middle East, aligns with Biden’s mission to further diplomacy with global leaders. Before his formal appointment, Blinken emphasized the necessity of engaging in global agreements during a 2020 Hudson Institute foreign policy event. This global cooperation includes agreements related to climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and weapons programs like Iran’s nuclear program. From his analytic perspective, Blinken argued that the U.S. cannot sufficiently overcome such challenges alone, which is a viewpoint in direct opposition to former president Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy.
Biden’s appointment of Antony Blinken was widely perceived as an indication that restoring the nation’s global standing after the Trump administration was one of the new administration’s top priorities. Critics of the appointment, however, argued against Blinken’s previous “interventionist positions,” including support for the 2003 Iraq invasion and use of military force in Libya in 2011. Furthermore, some lawmakers called on Biden “to end the revolving door between government and the defense industry,” a goal they do not believe will be furthered by Blinken.Other progressives praised the choice for his diplomatic experience and relationship with the president. James E. Risch, republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, even supported the appointment claiming that his qualifications make him “the person for the job.”
With respect to Iran, Blinken will largely facilitate Biden’s mission to improve relations with the country. During a speech at the State Department on March 3, 2021, Blinken outlined Biden’s foreign policy priorities, with a large focus on China. The list did not include Israel or the Iran nuclear threat, however Blinken stressed that some “important items” missing from the list were still of concern to the administration. This priority appears to have shifted as of late, though, towards an increased focus on Iran. Blinken regularly expresses interest in resuming an agreement with Iran but has stressed that the U.S. will not offer sanctions relief or other concessions until full compliance is achieved. On February 5, 2021, Blinken held a virtual meeting with foreign ministers of Germany, France, and the U.K., to discuss the administration’s new approach towards Iran. Blinken also told NPR in February that he sought to resume direct diplomacy should there be an avenue to do so, still with the requirement that Iran return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. On May 13, 2021, Blinken stated that Iran’s potential funding of Hamas weapons is not cause to abandon the talks in Vienna, claiming “when it comes to any of the malign activities that Iran may or may not engage in… that only underscores the importance that we do everything we can to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.” Blinken continues to further U.S. interests of reengaging with Iran and has recently consulted with Israel on the potential return to the JCPOA. In-person negotiations about rejoining the Iran nuclear deal have been carried out by the U.S. envoy for Iran. Rejoining the JCPOA would allow the administration to shift focus to other issues in Iran and simultaneously realign the United States with European allies.
Who is Biden’s top envoy to Iran, Robert Malley?
Robert Malley was appointed as the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran on January 28, 2021. Malley previously served various mediator and advisory positions, including as a staff member of the National Security Council and assistant to Clinton on Arab-Israeli affairs. During Obama’s presidency, he was Special Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the President for the Counter-ISIL Campaign, White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf Region, and Senior Director for the Gulf Region and Syria. Malley was also a key member of the group that negotiated the 2015 nuclear accord under Obama, giving him further experience and insight into the issue of the nuclear program. Prior to his appointment as envoy to Iran, Malley was the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group whose mission is the promotion of dispute resolution and a softer doctrine. This position further highlights his focus on diplomacy and preference for it over military action. Former national security adviser to Obama, Benjamin J. Rhodes, has previously described Malley as “a proxy for everything” due to his long diplomatic career.
When President Biden announced Malley’s appointment, it sparked some initial controversy, including accusations that he was an Iran apologist and anti-Israel. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton called Malley a “radical” with a “long track record of sympathy for the Iranian regime & animus towards Israel.” Critics of his appointment claim his sympathy for Tehran and hostility towards Israel expose Biden’s calls for unity and diplomacy as insincere. Others claim he possesses outdated biases about Middle Eastern societies, arguing that he views them as entirely “anti-Western.” However, this is an unsubstantiated claim and supporters of Biden’s choice of Malley for this position emphasize his intellectual background and expertise in foreign policy. They note that successful diplomacy requires “a level-headed understanding of the other side’s motivations and knowledge that can only be acquired through dialogue.” From this perspective, Malley’s appointment aligns with Biden’s mission in the region to promote diplomacy.
In a 2021 article co-authored by Malley titled “Accomplice to Carnage: How America Enables War in Yemen,” he analyzed the U.S. position in Yemen and emphasized implementing peace talks to de-escalate tensions there. Malley’s recommendations for the Biden administration's actions in Yemen largely parallel his current efforts in Iran; he called on the administration to withdraw support for Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis and focus on diplomatic negotiations in the region to encourage the Houthis to “show flexibility in peace talks.” The article’s recommendations were adhered to by the Biden administration with the reversal of the Houthis’ designation as a terrorist organization, appointment of a special envoy to Yemen, and overall support for a diplomatic peace process to improve regional stability. Now in his position as special envoy, Malley is representing the U.S. in negotiations with Iran and continuing this diplomatic approach.
As of early April, indirect communications were taking place, with representatives from Europe, Russia, and China serving as middle-men, to discuss stipulations for reentering into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. On April 27, 2021, Malley took part in a virtual meeting with officials from countries that are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and he stated that the discussion was about “the status of JCPOA talks and regional security.” Also on April 27, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Malley was going to the region to take part in a round of negotiations. The most recent negotiations took place in Vienna and ended on May 19, focusing mainly on the potential for the U.S. to ease sanctions on Iran and Iran’s full return to their previous nuclear commitments. Officials involved in the talks claimed that Washington provided “a very serious economic proposal” to the Iranians and that clear progress was being made. Despite progress, a final agreement was not reached and talks will need to continue, due in part to the fact that Iranian negotiators have “remained on a tight leash.” Iran has, however, extended their International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreement for another month, indicating efforts on their behalf to achieve an agreement in Vienna in that time to return to the 2015 deal.
Who is Richard M. Nephew, the deputy envoy for Iran?
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Richard Nephew as the Deputy U.S. Special Envoy for Iran on January 29, 2021. Nephew worked as a non-resident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. He also worked as the head sanctions expert on the U.S. team negotiating with Iran from August 2013 to December 2014 and served as the principal deputy for the inaugural Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department at the same time. From 2011 to 2013, he was the director for Iran at the National Security Council where he “was responsible for the development and execution of the sanctions strategy toward Iran.”
Nephew is known for his 2017 book The Art of the Sanctions: A View from the Field. In it, he explains how sanctions inflict pain and damage on other countries, which “can be less visible and seem less destructive than those of military conflict.” Unlike many U.S. officials, Nephew acknowledges the negative impact sanctions have on civilians and how these function as a foreign policy tool. His expertise in sanctions has raised some concern about his appointment within Iran. Iranian parliament member Ahmad Naderi claims that the appointment of Nephew is proof of Biden’s malice and that “Americans’ hatred of Iran is not limited to Republicans or Democrats.” Another Iranian source, conservative newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz, depicted Nephew and Biden as characters in the film The Devil’s Advocate and emphasized Nephew’s role in the previous sanctions. However, in the U.S. he is praised for his work in energy, non-proliferation, and sanctions, and he has historically proven successful in working across parties.
Within the Biden administration, Richard Nephew perhaps presents an opportunity to balance the appointment of Special Envoy Malley. Whereas Robert Malley is criticized for being overly soft and sympathetic toward Iran, Nephew provides a more traditional, hardline approach towards foreign policy with Iran. The interactions between these two individuals will be interesting to observe. It is likely that the distinct expertise of both the special envoy for Iran and the deputy special envoy will provide unique perspectives and resolutions to Biden’s goal of increased diplomacy and improved relations with Iran.
Who is Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security advisor?
President Joe Biden appointed Jake Sullivan as the national security advisor to be part of the administration’s foreign policy and national security team. During Obama’s presidency, Sullivan served as the national security adviser to Vice President Biden, director of policy planning at the State Department, and deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He was also involved in Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as a senior policy adviser, a role in which he prepared her with information on foreign and domestic policy issues. Envoy to Iran Robert Malley previously worked with Sullivan under the Obama administration and also at the Crisis Group. Malley supported the appointment of Sullvian stating “…he has shown himself to be remarkably perceptive, open-minded, generous with his time and thoughts. Those are all qualities that will serve him exceptionally well in his new position.”
As a nominee for the national security advisor position, Sullivan spoke at a university event in December 2020, where he advocated for strengthening the nation domestically and claimed that a strong homefront is the foundation for the promotion of U.S. policies abroad. The domestic priorities he outlined include a stronger economy, research and development investments, and general strengthening of U.S. institutions. In another Zoom interview in December, Sullivan told NPR, “...the work that we do abroad fundamentally has to connect to making the lives of working people better, safer, fairer.” This ideology aligns with Biden’s larger rhetoric of overlapping foreign and domestic policy, especially with an increased focus on the working middle class, to bolster national security. Despite his emphasis on the domestic front, Sullivan has tackled many foreign policy issues since taking the position. These have included tense exchanges between Sullivan and Beijing officials about Chinese aggressions, a Russian software hack, and North Korean missile testing.
The effort to return the U.S. to the Iran nuclear deal is another challenge before Sullivan. Before being formally appointed, Sullivan explained that a U.S. return to the Iran nuclear deal hinged on Iranian compliance first. He argued that the most effective tactic of dealing with security threats from Iran is to expedite the timeline of restoring the deal and subsequently put the Iranian program “in a box.” In April 2021, Sullivan stated that both parties were seriously willing to work towards a return to the JCPOA, but it was still unclear whether an agreement could be reached. Sullivan seemed further discouraged about the prospect on May 2, 2021, when he told ABC they were not close to achieving a deal and explained that the main issues lie in what sanctions can be removed and what nuclear restrictions Iran will accept. He affirmed, though, that the administration was dedicated to working towards a deal on a “compliance-for-compliance basis.” From his security perspective, Sullivan will likely remain focused on returning to the Iran nuclear deal as long as it appears the best route to restricting Iran’s weapons capabilities.
Who is General Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Secretary of Defense?
Lloyd J. Austin III was sworn in as the secretary of defense on January 22, 2021. He served 41 years in the United States Army, was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the 2003 Iraq Invasion, and later served in the position of Commanding General of United States Forces for Iraq. His final position of military service was the Commander of U.S. Central Command, in which he oversaw military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He retired from army service in April of 2016 and has since served on the Boards of Directors for Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, and Tenet Healthcare.
While Austin’s recent military service provides relevant knowledge and experience for his new position, it also presented an obstacle to his congressional confirmation. Due to a current law which requires nominees for defense secretaries to have been out of uniform for seven years, the House and Senate were required to vote to grant a waiver and approved the nomination on January 21, 2021. This waiver allowed his confirmation despite only having ended his active service in 2016. Democratic congressman Adam Smith from Washington, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, argued that Austin’s qualifications were imperative at the Pentagon due to the state of security affairs following the Trump administration; Smith said, “The disruption President Trump brought to the Pentagon cannot be underestimated… We have a complex threat environment, let’s just say that. We heard, in the committee today, about China and Russia and Iran, the Middle East, North Korea, not to mention the domestic insurrection… There is an urgency to this.” The Congressional Black Caucus also issued a statement of support for Austin, stating that the appointment “makes our country stronger and safer” while simultaneously making historic progress as the first African American secretary of defense. He was confirmed by an almost unanimous 93-2 vote in the Senate which is evidence of congressional support for him in this new position.
Since his nomination for the secretary of defense position, Lloyd Austin has been forthcoming with his views on Iran. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Austin spoke of the Iran Nuclear Deal stating, “I would hope that as we enter into that agreement, we could have this discussion about when things sunset and also take a look at some broader things that may or may not be a part of this treaty, but certainly things that I think need to be addressed. One of those things is ballistic missiles.” He acknowledged Iran as a destabilizing force and potential threat in the same hearing. In late February, he recommended airstrikes in Syria as a response to rocket attacks by Iran-backed militias. Following the strikes, Austin told Reuters that “we’re confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit. And we’re confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militia that conducted the strikes… So, we’re very deliberate about our approach as you would expect us to be.” He also visited Israel for a two-day trip in April where he reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to Israel and Israeli security, but did not directly discuss Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Later, though, in the beginning of June, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with the Israeli Minister of Defense, Benjamin Gantz, at the Pentagon; the two discussed Iran as a global and regional threat, and Gantz expressed a “shared strategic need” to stunt Iran’s weapons advancement. Austin’s most recent comments related to Iran concern the country’s presence in the Atlantic Ocean. As of June 10, 2021, two Iranian ships were identified in the Atlantic, and the Secretary of Defense told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that he was concerned of potential weapons proliferation in Venezuela. By June 17, though, the ships appeared to have changed course up the west coast of Africa, a move that U.S. officials believe may indicate success of diplomatic efforts by Western governments to turn away the ships.
Who is the deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman?
Wendy Sherman was confirmed as the United States Deputy Secretary of State on April 13, 2021 and sworn in the following day. Before this, Sherman was the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and a senior fellow at the school’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. From 2011 to 2015, she served as undersecretary of state for political affairs in the Obama administration. In this position, she traveled to 54 countries and was the lead negotiator on the team which reached the JCPOA agreement. Her career experience in foreign policy has afforded her much support in this new position. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Sherman on her appointment and voiced his support in a Tweet stating, “We are all only as good as the team we surround ourselves with, and I’m thrilled to have you on board.”
Many view Wendy Sherman’s appointment in the Biden administration as an effort to prioritize a renegotiation into the Iran nuclear deal. While her position will concern itself with a plethora of foreign policy issues, her experience with the Iran deal and continued interest in it suggests Iran will remain a prominent focus going forward. Sherman has previously voiced her criticism of the Trump administration’s foreign policy and even called his 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal “one of the worst foreign policy blunders in U.S. history.” Prior to her appointment, Sherman said that diligent work would be required to re-engage in the Iran deal, especially in the wake of the increased sanctions imposed at the end of Trump’s presidential term. The confirmation of her appointment in April coincided with heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, but Iran still remained a priority on the agenda as Sherman entered the State Department.
On May 5, 2021, Wendy Sherman spoke at the Atlantic Council’s EU-US Future Forum about the Iran nuclear deal and international cooperation more generally. At the event, she described the goal of extending the IAEA technical agreement with Iran so that it would be effective during the Iranian election in June. More recently, though, Sherman’s focus has shifted towards managing the strained relationship between the U.S. and China. Chinese confrontations have heightened recently due to military aggression, the trade war, and human rights violations. About communication between the United States and China to manage these issues, Sherman said “we’re going to slowly, step by step, engage when it’s in our interest.” She traveled to Cambodia on June 1, 2021 and voiced concerns about China’s military presence in the nation. Looking forward, the Iran and China files will remain priorities for Sherman, and her career experience in negotiations will continue to prove relevant for the Biden administration’s foreign policy goals.
Who is Ariane Tabatabai, a State Department advisor?
Ariane M. Tabatabai announced that she joined the Biden administration in the State Department as a senior advisor to the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security on February 17, 2021. Before this position, she worked as a Middle East Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation. Prior to her work at the RAND Corp, she served at Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service as the director of curriculum and a visiting assistant professor of security studies. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in War Studies and M.A. in International Peace and Security, both from King's College London. She has been published in various academic and mainstream sources, including International Security, the Journal of Strategic Studies, the New York Times, the Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. She also authored the book No Conquest, No Defeat: Iran’s National Security Strategy and co-authored Triple Axis: Iran’s Relations with Russia and China.
Tabatabai has a long history with Iran and Iranian policy, both from academic endeavors and personal experience. Her publications at RAND focused on the Iran Threat Network, implications of Iranian escalation for U.S. interests, and the national security debate of Iran. Even prior to this, though, her international security and foreign policy studies formed a comprehensive understanding of the nation. Tabatabai lived in Iran in 2009 during the controversial election which resulted in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s maintenance of power despite questions of election validity. From there, she decided to pursue international security affairs in university and became an expert in the Middle East and issues of nuclear security. Her publications frequently implicate the Iran nuclear deal, which she argues lacks a perfect resolution due to the intense opposition of the U.S. and Iranian positions on the matter. Her lengthy list of publications and foundational education makes her expertise as an advisor a valuable addition to the State Department.
Following Tabatabai’s appointment to the advisory position, she was met with intense criticism online for her background. Commentators on Twitter attacked her Iranian heritage and her father, a respected Iranian philosopher; the online criticism prompted responses from colleagues denouncing the allegations and condemning harassment of State Department personnel. Given the inappropriate and baseless nature of this commentary, it did not affect the appointment itself and deescalated after her initial announcement accepting the position. More recently, though, further questions and even conspiracy theories have emerged regarding Tabatabai. As of June 2, 2021, a group of Republican congressmen, led by Republican New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew, demanded revocation of Tabatabai’s security clearance and an investigation into her alleged Iranian ties. The letter which detailed these demands implied a security threat but did not provide any evidence or reasoning for these claims, instead only referencing her previous publications and her family background. The Biden administration has defended Tabatabai and not proceeded with any investigation. She still holds her current senior advisory position, and her expertise remains relevant as issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program persist.
