By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump is now contemplating tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a particular envoy for Iran, in line with two folks conversant in the transition plans.
“He’s definitely in the running,” mentioned an individual conversant in transition deliberations, who requested to not be recognized.
No closing selections on both personnel or technique on Iran have been made official but by Trump, together with whether or not to slap recent sanctions on the nation, pursue diplomacy or each to be able to halt their nuclear program.
Neither Trump’s workforce nor Grenell responded to requests for remark. Trump’s plans for the position haven’t beforehand been reported.
However his consideration of a key ally for such a posting sends a sign to the area that the brand new U.S. president could also be open to talks with a rustic he has beforehand threatened and whose elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have sought to assassinate him, in line with the U.S. authorities. Iran has denied the declare.
Within the position, Grenell is anticipated to be tasked with talking with nations in and past the area concerning the Iran difficulty in addition to taking Tehran’s temperature on doable negotiations, mentioned one of many folks.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who’s seen as comparatively average, mentioned following Trump’s election that Tehran should “deal with the U.S.” and “manage” relations with its arch-foe.
Iran has suffered a collection of strategic setbacks, together with Israel’s assault on Tehran’s proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
However tensions stay excessive greater than a 12 months after Hamas attacked southern Israel, launching the Gaza battle. In the meantime, different Iranian proxies have attacked U.S., Israeli and different Western targets, and Tehran has accelerated its nuclear program whereas limiting the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s potential to observe it.
It isn’t the primary job Trump has thought-about for Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany, a particular presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and as appearing director of nationwide intelligence throughout Trump’s 2017-2021 time period.
After campaigning for Trump within the lead as much as the Nov. 5 election, he was a prime contender to be secretary of state and for particular envoy for the Ukraine battle. These jobs went to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and retired lieutenant normal Keith Kellogg (NYSE:), respectively. Trump takes workplace subsequent month.
Throughout his first time period in workplace, in 2020, Trump ordered a U.S. air strike that killed Iran’s prime navy commander, Qassem Soleimani.
Trump in 2018 additionally reneged on a nuclear deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 and re-imposed U.S. financial sanctions on Iran that had been relaxed. The deal had restricted Iran’s potential to counterpoint uranium, a course of that may yield fissile materials for nuclear weapons.
Iran now’s “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to as much as 60% purity, near the roughly 90% degree that’s weapons grade, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief informed Reuters final week. Iran says its nuclear program solely serves peaceable functions.
