If we are to believe the reports, the FBI is investigating Robert Malley, who had been President Joe Biden’s Special Envoy to Iran, for mishandling classified information, then we are looking at a political explosion.
It is no secret that Malley was too soft on Iran’s nuclear program. I wrote about him here on January 27, 2022, in an article I named after his nickname in Washington, “Hajj Mali.”
I have heard sources in the region and Europe, as well as Washington insiders, discuss Malley’s laxity with Iran. This is not an accusation leveled against him. I am identifying the ideological motives for being lenient with Tehran, what it has done and what it is doing since the time of President Obama.
Therefore, the details of his investigation for mishandling “classified information,” and before that, his own confirmation last week that he had been granted unpaid leave and that his security clearance was suspended earlier this year, all point to their being something serious.
The investigation with Malley, before the Wagner debacle began in Russia, as Wagner’s military forces marched to Moscow in an unprecedented scene, tells us something important. Nothing can compensate for institutionalization, be it in Moscow or Washington.
Here the reader may ask: How is that relevant to Russia? In Moscow, irregular forces were used to replace the army, and this proved dangerous. In Washington, we had an ideological diplomat seeking an agreement with Iran at any price, which is not how institutions or men of institutions operate.
In the event that any of the charges Malley is facing are proven in the court of law file, especially if he is shown to have let out confidential information, it would be a real blow or a devastating bomb. It would leave the Iranian wing in Washington - one that takes ideological positions, not political ones - stunned and staggered.
The Iranian wing in Washington includes media figures, academics, and politicians who became powerful during President Obama’s term. They have become more audacious, and they do not hide the justifications they make for Iran and its actions, despite all the threats that Iran poses in the region and Ukraine.
And so, we have more questions today than answers regarding Malley’s investigation. He was recently replaced by Abram Paley as acting special envoy for Iran. If any breakthroughs are made, what impact would that have on the future of negotiations?
Will the negotiations falter, making a military conflict in the region more likely? We are not being hyperbolic when we say that the investigation into Malley, if significant mistakes are identified, could be a political bomb, especially with the US presidential elections approaching.
The Americans admit that Tehran is close to reaching the nuclear threshold, which would put more pressure on all the parties involved in the Iranian nuclear negotiations. We do not know where these investigations will lead us, especially since the FBI’s intervention means that the matter is serious.
For all of these reasons, we are on the verge of an amazing story, a political bomb, if real mistakes are proven.
