Biden’s former Iran envoy, placed on leave amid security clearance investigation, lands new gig at Princeton

President Biden’s Special Envoy for Iran who was placed on leave in June amid an investigation into his security clearance has landed a teaching gig at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

The department said Robert Malley will teach a graduate course this fall on foreign policy decision-making, and one to two undergraduate courses in the spring that will focus on diplomacy, negotiation, and foreign policy. 

Robert Malley, Biden administration special envoy for Iran, waits to testify about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill May 25, 2022, in Washington, DC.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden tapped Malley in January 2021 to try to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to obtain a nuclear weapon in return for economic sanctions relief. 

Malley stepped back from his State Department role shortly before Iran’s release of five U.S. citizens to house arrest as part of a deal under which they would eventually leave Iran and $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen.

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Malley was not able to resurrect the agreement, which then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, arguing that its terms were too favorable to Iran and that it failed to place sufficient restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Malley confirmed in June that his clearance was being investigated, but said he was confident about a positive outcome. According to media reports, Malley’s clearance was suspended amid an investigation of his handling of classified material. 

FILE: Robert Malley, Vice President for Policy of the International Crisis Group speaks during the Forum MED Mediterranean Dialogues summit in Rome, Italy on November 30, 2017.  (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

“I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave,” Malley said to Fox News at the time. 

“While I am on leave from the State Department, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with the next generation of public servants,” Malley said in the statement. “I look forward to my time at Princeton and returning to government service in due course.”

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It is unclear when or how the review of Malley’s security clearance may be concluded. 

Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano, Nick Kalman and Reuters contributed to this report.