US envoy for Iran: US focused on supporting riots, JCPOA not priority

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
4 Dec 2022 15:50
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In an interview with Bloomberg, US Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley makes it clear that the nuclear deal is not on the list of priorities for the US right now, but rather supporting the civil unrest in Iran.

Special US envoy to Iran Robert Malley. (Youtube screengrab)

Robert Malley - the US special envoy to Iran - said that the United States will be focusing on a number of other things rather than reviving the nuclear deal with Iran.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Malley said that Washington will be focusing on supporting rioters in Iran - which John Bolton recently admitted to them being armed - and on Iranian arms supplies to Russia.

He said: “Iran is not interested in a deal and we’re focused on other things."

“Right now we can make a difference in trying to deter and disrupt the provision of weapons to Russia and trying to support the fundamental aspirations of the Iranian people," referring to the riots in Iran.

Just yesterday, Iraqi authorities seized a huge weapon cache on its way from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iranian rioters who have murdered 100 Iranian personnel so far. The stockpile included Kalashnikov rifles, pistols, and ammunition.

Malley contends that Washington currently aims to "disrupt, delay, deter and sanction" weapon deliveries to Russia from Iran. In October, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani asserted that Tehran does not export weapons to Ukraine or Russia.

Bolton: Iranian opposition is armed

Former US National Security Chief, John Bolton, has recently openly admitted that the "opposition" in Iran is armed, and that their weapons are being smuggled from the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Bolton made the remarks during an interview with the London-based BBC Persian TV channel.

“The Iranian opposition is now being armed, with weapons seized from the Basij, or weapons entering Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan. This reveals the perspective that the systematic effort of the opposition not only to protest but to use coercive force against the government, with the message that we are no longer unarmed, and can fight against the IRGC. This shows that the position of the Islamic Republic is more vulnerable than ever,” he said.

BBC Persian TV's Senior Presenter, Iranian-British journalist Rana Rahimpour, who has recently unknowingly revealed in a leaked audio that the real purpose of provoking the riots in Iran is to divide the country, attempted to comment on Bolton's claims to refute them, in order to stick to the BBC's narrative: “Although Mr. Bolton, there is still no evidence that the protestors that have taken to the streets are armed."

However, Bolton insisted on proving that the protestors were armed, stressing: “Well let me just say, there are social media reports and videos coming out of Iran that do show that the opposition has weapons, that show security forces running from the opposition, and there have even been fire exchanges, and I don’t believe that government suppression, especially in Kurdistan…I don’t think the people of Kurdistan would tolerate it”.