“He’s definitely in the running,” said a person familiar with transition deliberations, who asked not to be identified.
No final decisions on either personnel or strategy on Iran have been made official yet by Trump, including whether to slap fresh sanctions on the country, pursue diplomacy or both in order to halt their nuclear program.
Trump’s plans for the role have not previously been reported.
But his consideration of a key ally for such a posting sends a signal to the region that the new US president may be open to talks with a country he has previously threatened and whose elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have sought to assassinate him, according to the US government. Iran has dismissed the claim.
In the role, Grenell is expected to be tasked with speaking with countries in and beyond the region about the Iran issue as well as taking Tehran’s temperature on possible negotiations, stated one of the people.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said following Trump’s election that Tehran must “deal with the US” and “manage” relations with its arch-foe.
It’s not the first job Trump has considered for Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany, a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s 2017-2021 term.
After campaigning for Trump in the lead up to the Nov. 5 election, he was a top contender to be secretary of state and for special envoy for the Ukraine war. Those jobs went to US Senator Marco Rubio and retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg, respectively. Trump takes office next month.
During his first term in office, in 2020, Trump ordered a US air attack that killed Iran’s top military commander, Qassem Soleimani.
Trump in 2018 also reneged on a nuclear deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 and re-imposed US economic sanctions on Iran that had been relaxed.
