Iran Envoy Placed on Leave Will Be Teaching Princeton Classes

Rob Malley, the Biden administration’s Special Envoy to Iran who has been placed on leave by the State Department, will be teaching a couple of classes at Princeton University during the upcoming school year.

According to the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs’ (SPIA) website, Malley will be teaching “a graduate course this fall on foreign policy decision-making, and one to two undergraduate courses in the spring focused on some combination of diplomacy, negotiation, and foreign policy.” He will be serving in the roles of visiting professor and visiting lecturer.

SPIA Dean Amaney Jamal lauded Malley’s “significant diplomatic experience and interactions with multiple presidential administrations” as being “of enormous value to our students.” “I am very happy to welcome him to the School and look forward to his contributions,” Jamal said in a statement.

Malley said in a statement, “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 at the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. I look forward to my time at Princeton and returning to government service in due course.”

Per various media reports, Malley was one of the chief negotiators involved in forging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that the Trump administration exited out of in 2018; the Biden administration has been working to revive the deal to no avail thus far. Malley was placed on leave in June, which was reportedly due to allegedly mishandling of classified information, though the State Department has refused to publicly provide any details on the matter. Both The Washington Times and Tablet have reported that Malley’s security clearance was suspended in April. Malley himself told Fox News in June, “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.”

Some Republicans in Congress criticized Princeton’s hiring of Malley. “Pitiful,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Rob Malley was such a pro-Iran radical that he was FIRED from Biden admin & had his security clearance stripped for ‘mishandling classified docs’ (the details are still hidden).” Cruz is a Princeton alumnus.

Pitiful. Look who my alma mater just made a prof.

Rob Malley was such a pro-Iran radical that he was FIRED from Biden admin & had his security clearance stripped for “mishandling classified docs” (the details are still hidden):https://t.co/mp5GzxAQoj https://t.co/YO1weCguED

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 16, 2023

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul told The Algemeiner, “Rob Malley’s security clearance was suspended, and he was placed on leave from the State Department — with no explanation as to why, even in a classified setting. I’m working on legislation to mandate the State Department be transparent with Congress when there are security issues with senior officials.” He urged Princeton “to reconsider allowing Mr. Malley to teach US college students until the underlying reason for the suspension is made clear and the issue is resolved.”

Some Jewish groups criticized Princeton as well. “Princeton: From this to this!” International Legal Forum CEO Arsen Ostrovsky posted on X, showing pictures of Albert Einstein and Malley. “What a sad indictment on a once illustrious university and institution of higher learning.”

Princeton: From this to this!

What a sad indictment on a once illustrious university and institution of higher learning. pic.twitter.com/5rE5O9LRp2

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) August 16, 2023

Stop Antisemitism also posted on X, “Princeton: allowing a course to be taught that includes an antisemitic blood libel of Jews harvesting Palestinian organs. Also Princeton: hires Robert Malley, currently being investigated by the FBI for leaking information to the Iranian terror regime. Is Princeton President Eisgruber asleep at the wheel?”

Princeton: allowing a course to be taught that includes an antisemitic blood libel of Jews harvesting Palestinian organs.

Also Princeton: hires Robert Malley, currently being investigated by the FBI for leaking information to the Iranian terror regime.

Is Princeton President…

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 16, 2023

As previously reported by the Journal, a course at Princeton features a book that is allegedly promoting blood libels.

Princeton did not immediately respond to the Journal’s request for comment.