Washington Free Beacon by Adam Kredo
Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley is under increasing pressure to resign his post, as members of Congress and Iranian-American advocacy groups lose faith in his ability to support a growing protest movement in the Islamic Republic that threatens to topple the hardline regime.
The protests, which first erupted after the regime’s morality police murdered a young woman who didn’t properly wear her head covering, have quickly evolved into a referendum on the Iranian regime itself. But Malley, who has been the administration’s public face of diplomacy with Tehran, claimed the protesters are merely demonstrating “for their government to respect their dignity and human rights”âeven in the face of mounting evidence they are protesting to end the oppressive regime.
The Biden administration is still waiving economic sanctions on the Iranian regime as it seeks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, though the prospects of reaching an agreement grow increasingly slender. These efforts have also forced the administration to walk a diplomatic tightrope as it offers tepid support to protesters to avoid isolating the hardline government from negotiations. Following Malley’s online gaffe, the State Department declined to answer Washington Free Beacon questions about whether it assesses that Iranian protesters are seeking regime change, even as those protesters chant “Death to the Dictator” and make clear they want the theocratic government dismantled…
