Richard Neveu left the US State Department – Mehr News Agency | Iran and world’s news

According to Mehr News Agency, “Richard Neveu”, the man who is known as the architect of anti-Iranian sanctions, announced in a Twitter message that he is leaving his job at the US State Department.

“Given the follow-up of the last few weeks, I have to clarify some things for you,” he wrote in his message. I left the US negotiating team in Vienna on December 6, 2021, due to differences of opinion about its political approach. I also left the US State Department last week.

Nefiu is one of the architects of the US sanctions network against Iran under the Obama administration and the author of The Art of Sanctions; “A look from inside the field.” He believes that the imposition of sanctions should have three important characteristics: first, to create suffering in the target community, second, to gain the consensus of other states, and third, to influence the behavior of the target state.

Having these qualities and experiences on the part of Nefiu led to differing views on his presence in Biden’s team and the impact he could have on advancing the White House’s policies toward Iran.

One view was that, in Nefiu’s experience, the purpose of his appointment was to smarten up previous sanctions, so that which sanctions could be encouraged, lifted or suspended? Which sanctions should be on the table? Which sanctions should be maintained?

Another view was that anyone who destroyed a building knew well how to repair it.

The maneuver of the Western media at the time was that Robert Mali was not so adamant about imposing sanctions on Iran, while the choice of Nefiu as his deputy raises the question: “How is it possible that two people with different views in one Special issue, cooperate with each other »?

Neveu once argued that sanctions could be a useful part of foreign policy if integrated into a comprehensive strategy, taking into account aspects of diplomacy, international cooperation and pressure.