President Joe Biden and his top foreign policy aides have promised to move carefully to achieve one of his main diplomatic goals: restoring the 2015 international agreement to limit Irans nuclear program , which former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.

Iran hawks like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are determined to quickly stymie Bidens plans. And this week they picked their first target: Rob Malley, a former White House official who is being considered for a role as a special envoy to Tehran.

A motley crew of hard-liners including Cotton, hawkish Iranian-Americans, conservative commentators and a number of Americans formerly detained in Iran are involved in a smear campaign against Malley, who worked on Mideast issues at the National Security Council under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. These critics argue, with scant evidence, that Malley sympathizes with the Iranian regime and disdains U.S. ally Israel, which sees Iran as its chief threat.

In response, a chorus of well-respected voices on global affairs, from multiple senators to former U.S. and foreign officials and powerful advocacy groups, responded with affirmations of Malleys professionalism, expertise and commitment to peace-building and U.S. security.

Its increasingly clear that the dispute is about much more than Malleys personal views and credentials. Skeptics of negotiations with Iran dont just want to block one specific appointment; they want to influence the Biden administrations broader approach and make it harder for the presidents team to shore up the nuclear deal. Biden won the election, but many Republicans and their partners are pushing him to continue his predecessors aggressive policy toward Iran.

By creating a controversy like this, hard-liners can see how the Biden administration reacts and learn how best to shape its future calculations. And they can assess the extent to which old complaints about such diplomacy, which dominated the last few years of Obamas presidency, resonate in the news cycles of 2021. For all their expressions of concern, for their purposes it is mostly irrelevant whether or not Malley ultimately gets the job: Biden will pursue talks with Iran anyway, and they will remain focused on spoiling any agreement they see as too soft.

Its not about Rob its about opposing diplomacy, said one person familiar with the Biden teams thinking who sought anonymity to preserve relationships. Its about trying to see if they can, early on, pick a fight and get Biden to fold.

J Street, a prominent Jewish group supportive of both Israeli defense concerns and talks with Tehran, noted that the assault on Malley struck a familiar tone.

We are... dismayed to already be witnessing the same kind of character assassinations and false accusations being leveled against people who have committed their careers to advancing diplomacy and peace in the Middle East (in this case Malley) and the unfounded accusations of hostility to Israel and/or Jewish interests, the organization tweeted . Along with nearly 3/4 of American Jewish voters, we strongly support a return to the [deal] and a negotiated solution on the Iranian nuclear issue [and] broader regional conflicts.

The way for Bidens team to successfully manage the kerfuffle is to stand its ground and avoid ceding leverage to figures who are likely to criticize any diplomatic effort, the person said. The smart play is build your team and do what you did during the campaign: Ignore Twitter.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment on Malleys potential appointment. Malley did not respond to a request for comment.

The Real Debate: Politics, Not Personnel

On Jan. 20, Jewish Insider reported that Malley currently the president of the nonprofit International Crisis Group was being considered for the Biden administrations Iran envoy job. The Insider noted that Malley had criticized the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist in November as unhelpful for diplomacy a view shared by an array of foreign policy experts.

The same day, a little-known Iranian-American group called the National Union for Democracy in Iran published a message urging Biden to reject Malley, saying that he didnt sufficiently prioritize the Islamic Republics human rights abuses in interacting with Iranian officials and that he lacks relationships with Iranian civil society. The letters signatories included Mariam Memarsadeghi, an activist who wants the U.S. to bolster an impending transition in Irans leadership, and Xiyue Wang, an American graduate student who spent three years imprisoned in Iran before being released in December 2019.

On Jan. 21, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Eli Lake, a longtime critic of diplomacy with Iran, published a piece suggesting that hiring Malley would be a blunder for Biden and undermine other officials, such as Secretary of State nominee Tony Blinken.

Hours later, Cotton tweeted out Lakes story with a lengthy, disparaging comment accusing Malley of animus towards Israel.

The ayatollahs wouldnt believe their luck if he is selected. Appointing radicals like Malley gives the lie to all of President Biden and Tony Blinkens rhetoric of unity, Cotton continued.

A classic Washington mini-scandal was born. But the dated feeling of the controversy limited its effect. For many national security observers, the process echoed the Obama years of arguing over Iran policy and it was easy to note that these fights had been fought before, with the hawks ultimately losing as Obama enacted his deal.