Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with several current Biden administration officials a few years ago to “undermine” former President Trump’s relations with the country, according to a report.
One of the meetings between Zarif and Robert Malley, now the special envoy for Iranian politics, took place in 2019 after Trump withdrew the US from the Obama-era Iranian nuclear deal, The Washington Times reported on Sunday.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry also met with Zarif in the first few years of Trump’s presidency – something he had publicly acknowledged. Obama’s energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, also said in the report.
While the exact details of what was discussed at the meetings were not clear, a former senior US official told the newspaper that Zarif’s goal was “to develop a political strategy that would undermine the Trump administration.”
The source added that Zarif is seeking to regain support for the Iranian nuclear deal – or a similar deal, if the next US president were a Democrat.
Malley, Kerry and Moniz helped negotiate Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which narrowed the country’s nuclear program in exchange for improved sanctions.
Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reintroduced economic sanctions on Tehran.
Sources told The Times that Malley, in his meeting with Zarif, probably asked Iranian officials to stay tight until 2021, when he expected a democratic administration to be able to restore the agreement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the United States is ready to resume negotiations with Iran for both nations to accede to the agreement.