{"id":2045618,"date":"2023-09-26T18:34:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T22:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network\/"},"modified":"2023-09-26T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T22:36:16","slug":"pentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon defends Biden appointee&#8217;s alleged ties to Iranian influence network."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2045618&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Pentagon Stands by Official Alleged to be\u200b Part of Iranian\u2062 Influence Network<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Pentagon is standing by a senior official who was alleged\u2062 in a \u200dTuesday morning report to be\u2063 part of\u2063 a vast Iranian influence network, telling the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> the individual was &#8220;properly vetted&#8221; before being awarded\u200d a security clearance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The report \u2062from Semafor,\u2062 based \u200con emails from senior Iranian officials,\u200d detailed \u2064a\u200d vast communications\u2062 network,\u2063 known as the Iran Experts Initiative, linked\u2062 to the hardline regime in Tehran. That network, \u200cthe emails suggest, includes the Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai as well as other &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iranian-influence-operation-reached-top-levels-of-biden-administration-emails-show\/\" title=\"Emails reveal Iranian influence operation in top levels of Biden administration.\">influential overseas academics<\/a>&#8221; who reported to\u200b Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry and helped push Tehran&#8217;s talking points with American policymakers.\u2062 The existence\u2064 of this\u2063 network was outlined in a cache of Iranian government documents reviewed by <em>Semafor<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>A\u200d Pentagon spokesman defended\u200c Tabatabai in\u200c comments to the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>, \u2064saying\u200c she was subjected to \u2062a full security screening before being hired.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Dr. Tabatabai was thoroughly and\u200b properly vetted as a condition of her employment \u2064with the Department \u200cof Defense,&#8221; the spokesman said. &#8220;We are honored\u200c to have her serve.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Tabatabai, who \u200cobtained security clearance for her Pentagon \u2062job, and two others \u2063affiliated with the influence\u2064 campaign also served \u2063as aides \u2064to Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley, who was \u200csuspended \u200bfrom his post\u200c earlier this year for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kari-lake-stumps-for-trump-in-florida-watch-what-happens-when-she-says-desantis-name\/\" title=\"Kari Lake supports Trump in Florida, see her reaction when she mentions DeSantis.\">allegedly mishandling classified information<\/a>. It is\u2063 unclear \u200bwhether \u200bMalley&#8217;s suspension is related\u200b to his \u2064connection to \u200bthe Iranian influence network documented \u200din the <em>Semafor<\/em> report.<\/p>\n<p>While the Pentagon has \u200bnot addressed the \u2062news, State Department spokesman Matthew\u2064 Miller on Tuesday dismissed the story for\u200d containing information from &#8220;almost a decade ago&#8221; and referred \u2063further questions to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon would not respond to\u2064 <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> \u2062 questions about\u2062 whether it knew \u200babout these ties prior to the public revelations.<\/p>\n<p>White House \u200dNational Security Council \u2064spokesman \u2063John Kirby evaded questions \u2064about the matter during an interview Tuesday evening on CNN,\u2063 saying the \u2063administration has not \u200c&#8221;come to any conclusion about the press\u200d report or its validity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re \u2064just now reading this reporting\u200b ourselves and I don&#8217;t want to get\u2062 ahead of where we&#8217;re going to be,&#8221; \u200bKirby said.<\/p>\n<p>The report \u200bsays that former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, \u2062a\u2064 key player in the \u2063Iran Experts Initiative, had unfettered access to\u200d &#8220;Washington&#8217;s and Europe&#8217;s policy circles,&#8221; particularly during the Obama\u200c administration, when the\u2063 2015 nuclear\u2064 deal was first being sculpted.<\/p>\n<p>In\u2063 a 2014 email, Saeed Khatibzadeh, who later became the spokesman for Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry, discussed with then-Iranian foreign\u200b minister Javad Zarif how the experts \u200binitiative &#8220;consisted \u200dof\u2062 a core\u200d group \u200bof 6-10 distinguished second-generation Iranians,&#8221; including\u200d Tabatabai, who was then \u2063working\u2063 as an Iran analyst at several think tanks.<\/p>\n<p>Tabatabai \u200c&#8221;on at least two \u2063occasions checked in\u200c with Iran&#8217;s Foreign Ministry \u200cbefore \u200dattending policy events,&#8221;\u2063 according to the emails cited by <em>Semafor<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Iranian \u200ddissidents\u2062 and Republican lawmakers expressed outrage when the Biden administration in 2021 tapped Tabatabai for a State Department post, arguing that based on \u2063her family&#8217;s \u200dties to the Iranian government and the policy views she has\u200d espoused, she should not be granted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voa-misallocates-funds-and-suppresses-negative-stories-about-iran-this-lawmaker-wants-to-investigate\/\" title=\"VOA Misallocates Funds and Suppresses Negative Stories About Iran. This Lawmaker Wants To Investigate.\">top-secret security clearance<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/lawmakers-demand-state-dept-revoke-security-clearance-for-appointee-tied-to-iranian-regime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Free Beacon<\/em> reported<\/a>. Tabatabai&#8217;s\u2064 father, \u200bDr. Javad Tabatabai, is a senior faculty member at the\u200d state-controlled University of Tehran and\u2062 is \u200dallegedly \u2062part of \u2063Rouhani&#8217;s inner circle, according to\u200c information published by Iranian dissident groups.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, the \u200bState Department dismissed these claims as \u200cracist &#8220;smears and slander.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;We will not sit idly by as our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network\/\" title=\"Pentagon defends Biden appointee's alleged ties to Iranian influence network.\">employees\u2014dedicated\u200c public servants\u2014face personal smears<\/a> and slander,&#8221; \u2062then-spokesman Ned Price told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> at the time. \u2064&#8221;The administration \u200bappointed Ariane Tabatabai to a key role in the State Department \u200bbecause she is\u2063 one of the United States&#8217; leading\u200d experts on\u200d Iranian nuclear policy. The State Department is honored \u200bto\u200b have her serving \u200din this capacity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Iranian dissident groups in 2021 also raised questions about Tabatabai, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/iranian-dissidents-claim-biden-state-dept-hire-is-pro-regime-advocate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arguing<\/a> that she was a mouthpiece for the regime.<\/p>\n<p>Miller, the\u2062 State Department spokesman, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/daniel_c_roth\/status\/1706717441676530111?s=12&#038;t=K7FV0PtqXubvtleXA579vg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Tuesday that he is not\u200c concerned about the links \u2063 <em>Semafor<\/em> documented between\u2064 Tabatabai \u200dand the Iranian government and that a\u200d &#8220;thorough background investigation&#8221; was conducted before \u2063granting Tabatabai a security clearance. At least two other individuals linked to the\u200d Iran\u200b Experts \u200dInitiative\u2014analysts Ali \u2062Vaez and Dina Esfandiary\u2014worked with Malley when \u200che was president of \u2063the International Crisis Group, a\u200d think tank that advocates for increased U.S. diplomacy with Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>But the revelations about the\u200d Iranian influence \u2063network and its ties\u2062 to senior Biden administration officials\u200d is turning heads on Capitol Hill. Several Republican lawmakers told the \u200b <em>Free Beacon<\/em> \u2063 that Tabatabai&#8217;s security clearance should be revoked \u200cpending an investigation. \u200dLawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday \u200cafternoon sent an investigatory leader to \u2064Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, \u2064questioning why Tabatabai has access to top secret information and saying that she\u2064 &#8220;should not be employed by the Department of Defense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A \u200bhigh-level official\u200c at the Biden \u200c [Defense Department] was\u200b briefing Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry and ghostwriting essays for the world&#8217;s \u200cleading state sponsor \u2062of \u200bterrorism,&#8221; Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.),\u200c a member of \u200cthe House Armed Services Committee, told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;Congress needs to investigate \u2064any communications between\u2062 Ariane Tabatabai \u2063and the Iranian regime since Biden took office [and] \u2063 the \u2063Pentagon must review Ms.\u200b Tabatatai&#8217;s security clearance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Banks and \u200dother Republican lawmakers who spoke to the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> said they \u200care \u2062concerned that Tabatabai and others \u2063affiliated with the Iran\u2062 Experts Initiative\u200b hid their ties\u2063 to the \u200dhardline regime to\u200c land their government gigs.<\/p>\n<p>Banks also raised concerns that Tabatabai\u200b may have used her Pentagon \u2064position to\u200c push U.S. Strategic Command\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/u-s-strategic-command-hosts-former-iranian-official-who-bragged-about-efforts-to-assassinate-u-s-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">into hosting<\/a> former top Iranian official \u2063Hussein Mousavian\u2062 at an August conference. Mousavian&#8217;s appearance at STRATCOM&#8217;s 2023 Deterrence Symposium, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stratcomds.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">high-level powwow<\/a> that brought the former Iranian official shoulder to shoulder with America&#8217;s top military brass, generated\u2062 a congressional investigation,\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/congress-investigates-us-military-for-feting-iranian-official-who-bragged-about-efforts-to-assassinate-american-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the<em> Free \u200dBeacon<\/em> first reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The House Armed Services Committee\u2063 should see if Ms. Tabatabai was involved in \u200bSTRATCOM&#8217;s indefensible decision \u2062to \u200dhost former \u200dIranian\u2063 nuclear negotiator and\u2063 propagandist Hossein Mousavian,&#8221; Banks said.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), also \u200da member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the Biden\u200d administration appears to\u2062 have a knack for granting security clearances to questionable officials.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;First, \u2064it was Rob Malley&#8217;s security clearance\u200b and now this,&#8221; Wilson told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;The Biden administration owes \u200bthe American public an explanation on the extent of Iran&#8217;s influence \u2064operations in the United \u2063States and whether officials\u2064 in the \u2064Biden administration have been compromised.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. \u2063Kevin Hern (R., Okla.), the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Congress&#8217;s \u2064largest Republican\u2064 caucus, also expressed concerns\u2064 that &#8220;multiple people within \u2062the \u2064Biden administration have ties to the Iranian Regime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no \u200bcoincidence that \u2064Biden has \u200dbeen\u2063 so soft on Iran,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Why has \u200bthis gone on for so long? \u2063The world&#8217;s \u2062leading state sponsor of terrorism should have zero friends in the U.S. \u2062government.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update 5:46 p.m.<\/strong>: This post\u2063 has been updated with comment from White House National Security Council spokesman Kirby.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update 6:19 p.m.<\/strong>: This post has \u200cbeen updated with comment \u2063from DOD.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How will the allegations surrounding Ariane Tabatabai&#8217;s connection to the Iranian\u2063 influence network impact U.S. policy \u2064towards Iran<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Appointed Robert Malley, a figure with ties to the Iranian influence network, as the Iran \u2063envoy. Now, new revelations have surfaced about another official allegedly connected to this network: Ariane Tabatabai, a senior Pentagon official.\u200c The Pentagon, however, stands by Tabatabai, stating that she underwent a \u200cthorough vetting process before \u200cbeing granted\u2064 security clearance.<\/p>\n<p>According to a report from Semafor, which reviewed emails from \u200bsenior Iranian officials, Tabatabai\u200b is part of the Iran Experts Initiative, a vast communications network\u2064 linked to \u200dthe hardline regime in Tehran. This network includes influential overseas academics who report to Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry \u2062and help promote Tehran&#8217;s talking points with American policymakers. The existence of this network was confirmed through a cache of Iranian government documents.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these allegations, a \u2063Pentagon spokesman defended Tabatabai, stating that she \u200bunderwent a comprehensive security screening before joining the Department of Defense. The spokesman reiterated the \u2062department&#8217;s confidence in her\u200b and\u200c expressed honor in having her serve.<\/p>\n<p>Tabatabai, along with two others associated with the influence campaign, also served as aides to Robert Malley, the Biden administration&#8217;s\u2063 Iran envoy. Malley was previously suspended from his position earlier this year over allegations of mishandling classified information. It remains uncertain whether Malley&#8217;s \u2063suspension is connected to his involvement with the Iranian influence network\u2062 outlined in the\u200d Semafor report.<\/p>\n<p>While the Pentagon has not directly addressed these allegations, the State Department spokesman dismissed the story as outdated, referring further inquiries to the Pentagon. The Pentagon, however, declined to respond to questions about their knowledge of these connections\u2062 prior to \u200cthe report&#8217;s release.<\/p>\n<p>The White House National Security Council spokesman, John \u2062Kirby, evaded questions about the\u200d matter during an\u200d interview, stating that\u2064 the administration had not reached any conclusions about \u200dthe validity of the report.<\/p>\n<p>The Semafor report reveals that \u200dformer Iranian \u200dpresident Hassan Rouhani, a key player in the Iran Experts \u2063Initiative, had significant access to Washington&#8217;s and \u2063Europe&#8217;s policy circles, particularly during\u2064 the Obama administration when \u200cthe 2015\u200c nuclear \u200ddeal was being negotiated.<\/p>\n<p>Email correspondences from \u200c2014 between Saeed Khatibzadeh, later Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry spokesman, and then-Iranian\u200d foreign\u2064 minister Javad Zarif discuss \u200dthe experts initiative and its core group of distinguished second-generation Iranians,\u2064 including Tabatabai. The emails indicate that Tabatabai \u2064maintained contact with Iran&#8217;s foreign ministry before attending policy events.<\/p>\n<p>These revelations have sparked outrage among Iranian dissidents and Republican lawmakers, who have been critical of the Biden administration&#8217;s approach to Iran. The connection between officials with ties to the Iranian influence network \u2064and key positions in the administration raises concerns about the overall direction of U.S. policy towards Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>As the Pentagon maintains its \u2064support for Tabatabai, further\u200b investigation and\u2064 scrutiny are necessary to determine the extent of\u2063 her involvement with the alleged Iranian influence network. Transparency and accountability in vetting processes are \u200cessential to maintaining the integrity and security of \u200bthe U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pentagon supports a senior official accused of involvement in an extensive Iranian influence network. They claim the individual underwent thorough vetting before receiving security clearance. Semafor&#8217;s report, based on emails from Iranian officials, revealed a wide-ranging scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2045619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2045618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2045618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2045619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2045618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2045618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2045618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}