Regarding the investigation of the US envoy on Iran | Issue | US Iran
On June 29th, two officials from the US State Department said that Robert Marley, the US special envoy on Iran, was suspected of mishandling confidential information and has been "on leave without pay", and his security privileges have been frozen.
These two officials, who requested anonymity, told the Associated Press that the US Department of State's Department of Foreign Security is leading an investigation into Mali's alleged improper handling of classified documents. On the afternoon of June 29th, the State Council's regular briefing mentioned the Mali issue, and the two later learned that Mali had changed from "paid leave" to "unpaid leave.".
Earlier that day, State Council spokesperson Matthew Miller announced that Mali was on vacation and his special envoy would be represented by his deputy, Abram Pelly.
Mali himself issued a statement stating that he is aware that "security permissions are being evaluated" and has not been informed of further information, but he expects the investigation to be successfully completed soon. "Meanwhile, I am on vacation."
Another informed official revealed to The Washington Post that Mali was not aware of the investigation.
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US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Marley
Mali is the lead negotiator for the US government to resume negotiations on the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue. Previously, media reports revealed that he also secretly negotiated with Iran to release imprisoned US citizens. However, Mali did not attend a classified briefing in Congress on May 16th, and his whereabouts have since been questioned. At that time, the State Council only informed Congress that Mali was "on a long vacation", implying that the vacation was related to health issues with his family.
Multiple media outlets earlier revealed that the US government has been secretly negotiating with Iran for months to restrict Iran's nuclear program and release imprisoned US citizens, with the goal of reaching an "informal, unwritten" agreement. Oman participates in mediation. The US and Iran have negotiated multiple conditions, including Iran maintaining its current 60% enriched uranium abundance without further increase, and the US unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
Mali is said to have had two face-to-face talks with Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Said Irawani, since the end of last year, and the US representative participating in the consultations in Oman is White House Middle East Affairs Coordinator Brett McGregor.
Several Iranian government officials have previously stated that they also seem to suggest that the two sides are in contact and there has been some progress. But US State Department spokesperson Miller said on June 14th that the report was a "false and misleading rumor.".
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Since the beginning of his tenure as Democratic Party President Joseph Biden, Mali has served as the United States Special Envoy for Iran. The Associated Press said that he was a close friend of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. During the period of former Republican President Donald Trump, he worked for the international crisis research organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, and had direct contact with Iranian officials on many occasions.
Mali also served as a staff member of the National Security Council during the tenure of former Democratic Party President Barack Obama, deeply involved in the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement reached between the United States and relevant parties.
According to the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran promises to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions by the international community. In May 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and subsequently restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iraq. Since May 2019, Iran has gradually suspended the fulfillment of some provisions of the agreement, but has promised to take "reversible" measures.
Since April 2021, the parties involved in the Iran nuclear agreement have held multiple rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna to discuss the resumption of US Iran compliance, with the US indirectly participating in the negotiations.