A recently leaked audio file of Robert Malley, the U.S. special representative for Iran, obtained exclusively by Tehran Times has raised eyebrows. It allegedly indicates that the U.S. indeed aimed to revive the JCPoA as a prelude to further negotiations. While some pundits urge caution against overanalyzing the situation and advise Iranian politicians not to fall into any traps set by U.S. hardliners, conservatives in Iran view this as confirmation of their longstanding stance—that the JCPoA was built on Iran’s sheer optimism, or rather naiveté. The leaked audio has sparked heated debates and fueled both skepticism and reaffirmation of certain positions regarding the nuclear deal.
In late June and early July, Iran and the U.S. were on the brink of making a deal on swapping prisoners in Oman. Iran was supposed to release three American prisoners, but the U.S. conditioned the deal on releasing all four Iranian-Americans currently held in Iran, something that stymied the entire bargain. This was just the latest episode of the Iran-U.S. negotiations. Now, with a leaked auto file from a senior U.S. official, there seems to be yet another twist to this saga. Hardliners in the Iranian media are now claiming that Malley allegedly leaked the audio file himself to show that the U.S. was seeking to revive the JCPoA and then use the agreement as a starting point to exert more pressure on Iran. In fact, according to the transcript of the audiotape obtained by the Tehran-based English-language paper, Malley admits that the revival of the JCPoA is “only a starting point for working toward a longer, stronger, and broader agreement.” Malley, currently under investigation and also the target of accusations of support for Tehran by many Iranian expats, has been an advocate for reviving the JCPoA. He was recently suspended without pay until further investigation by U.S. agencies for a possible security violation. In reaction to the leaked audio tape, the Iranians pundits and media reports mainly cover two schools of thought. One is an advisory one, cautioning against falling into a trap of “hardliners within the U.S.,” while the other is celebratory, playing the “I told you so” card. Amongst those who believe this could be a trap is Majid Tafreshi, a researcher and historian who believes such leaked multi-layered views are not at all strange and unprecedented as they aim to influence the opposite view. On the other hand, Tafreshi says in an interview with Khabar Online, Iran should not show enthusiasm here with claims that it has obtained secret information from the heart of the enemy. This is because the disclosure of such information cannot be considered as good news because sometimes rival factions in the U.S. take advantage of such tricks to close the door to dialogue with Iran. The objective of this hardline faction in the U.S., says Tafreshi, is merely to spread misinformation as a way to scuttle talks. He notes that the outcome of the leak could be inaction, the collapse of negotiations, and the continuation of sanctions, which is exactly what the “Zionist lobby” and American neocons want.
Meanwhile, conservatives are using the leaked audio clip to emphasize their mistrust of Americans once again and, at the same time, launch attacks on the pro-JCPoA crowd in Iran for advocating the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal. Reacting to the audio file, Abdolreza Hadizadeh-Na’ini, the foreign policy editor at IRNA, expressed on social media that it serves as yet another indication that U.S. foreign policy towards Iran will remain unchanged. He criticized officials from the administration of former President Hasan Rouhani for suggesting that the Biden administration could swiftly return the United States to the JCPoA with a mere stroke of a pen. Additionally, he mocked Hesameddin Ashena, the former senior advisor to Hasan Rouhani, for believing that the appointment of Robert Malley by Washington signaled a speedy and effective resolution of outstanding issues. Another conservative social media user utilized the opportunity to label former foreign minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif as incompetent, if not an outright traitor. Similarly, self-described online activist Mehdi Qasemi used the audio file to reiterate the point often raised by JCPoA critics: that the nuclear deal serves as a starting point to apply pressure on Iran. As the various dimensions of this story have become more complicated, it is not clear which direction the indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington will go. Some believe that the JCPoA revival has lost its priority on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. Other experts, on the other hand, believe the Malley situation will have no bearing on the macro policies of the U.S.
