Iran met with Biden pals Dems’ bid to ‘undermine’ Don HISTORY ENDURES
SF halts plan to nix ‘racist’ school names
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with multiple current Biden administration officials in recent years to “undermine” then-President Donald Trump’s dealings with the country, a report claims.
One of the meetings between Zarif and Robert Malley, now the special envoy for Iran policy, took place in 2019 after Trump withdrew the United States from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, The Washington Times reported.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, now Biden’s special envoy for climate policy, also met with Zarif during Trump’s presidency, which he had publicly acknowledged. And so did Obama-era Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, the report said.
While exact details of what was discussed at the meetings was not clear, a former senior US official told the newspaper Zarif’s goal was “to devise a political strategy to undermine the Trump administration.”
The source added that Zarif was looking to regain support for the nuclear deal — or a similar agreement, in case the next US president was a Democrat.
Malley, Kerry and Moniz helped negotiate the 2015 deal, which curtailed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Tehran.
Sources told The Washington Times that Malley, in his meeting with Zarif, likely urged Iranian officials to sit tight until 2021, when it was expected a Democratic administration could restore the deal.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the United States is prepared to restart negotiations with Iran about both nations rejoining the deal.
The State Department said Washington would accept an invitation to meet with the countries that negotiated the original agreement — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran — “to discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program.”
Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blasted the Biden administration’s willingness to restart talks with Iran.
“The ayatollah understands only strength,” Pompeo, Trump’s chief diplomat, told the Washington Free Beacon last week.
“Adopting the European Union model of accommodation will guarantee Iran a path to a nuclear arsenal.”
This idea may soon be history. San Francisco’s plan to scrub the names of “racist” forefathers including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln from its schools has been put on ice following national outcry.
“I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process,” Gabriela López, president of the city’s school board, said in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday.
“Reopening will be our only focus until our children and young people are back in schools. We’re canceling renaming committee meetings for the time being.”
In late January, the school board voted 6-1 to rename 44 schools named after historical figures such as Washington, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Paul Revere.
The move was criticized as a symptom of cancel culture and for being based on misinformation and “casual Google searches.”
The board was also panned for focusing on renaming when kids were still attending classes remotely with no clear idea of when they could return to schools.
López said the renaming process started in 2018 with a timeline that didn’t account for a pandemic.
“We recognize we need to slow down. And we need to provide more opportunities for community input. We are working with educators at all levels to involve and educate our school communities about the renaming process. We are realizing, especially now, it will take time and energy to get that right,” López said in the statement.
“We are deeply grateful for the work of the renaming committee, and many schools are as well. They are excited about the opportunity to uplift communities that have previously been underrepresented. Our students need to attend schools where they feel valued and seen. This work is antiracist, and we’re proud of that.”
The educator said she would not comment publicly again about renaming until school reopens.
Attorney Paul D. Scott, who threatened to sue the district over the renaming decision, said he is “pleased” with the about-face but wants “the details in writing.”
“The board still needs to repeal their renaming resolution to formally reverse themselves and correct their violation of law. We will wait and see if they do that,” Scott told The Post.
“Decisions like this should not be made from on high. The local communities are the true stakeholders. The kids, parents, teachers, alumni and others connected to each school should be the ones making the decision. They should each be given a full and fair opportunity to be heard, in person, and their judgment as to their particular school should be respected.”