{"id":2227389,"date":"2024-04-22T16:06:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doe-collaborated-with-scientist-from-iranian-university-sanctioned-for-illicit-nuclear-work\/"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:11:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:11:17","slug":"biden-doe-collaborated-with-scientist-from-iranian-university-sanctioned-for-illicit-nuclear-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-doe-collaborated-with-scientist-from-iranian-university-sanctioned-for-illicit-nuclear-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s Department of Energy Collaborated with Scientist from Sanctioned Iranian University for Nuclear Work"},"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\">28<\/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%2Fbiden-doe-collaborated-with-scientist-from-iranian-university-sanctioned-for-illicit-nuclear-work%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=2227389&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--><p>A Republican lawmaker raised \u2062concerns that US taxpayer \u200cmoney was involved in a Biden administration-funded\u200b research project \u200bon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">renewable energy<\/a>. The project\u200c included contributions from \u200dan Iranian scientist\u200c at a sanctioned university known for supporting Iran&#8217;s \u200bnuclear program. Questions \u200dhave\u200c been raised regarding the Biden DOE&#8217;s collaboration with the \u200bIranian \u200bschool, \u2064prompting further\u200b investigations into the grant&#8217;s distribution.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Republican lawmaker concerned US <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-nevada-a-corrupt-cash-for-votes-scheme-is-hiding-in-plain-sight\/\" title=\"In Nevada, A Corrupt Cash-For-Votes Scheme Is Hiding In Plain Sight\">taxpayer dollars<\/a> made their way to sanctioned entities<\/h2>\n<figure> \t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A Biden administration-funded research project into renewable energy included contributions from an Iranian scientist who works at a Tehran-based university that is sanctioned for bolstering Iran\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biden-administration-cant-justify-its-awful-6b-hostage-deal-with-iran\/\" title=\"Biden's administration fails to justify its questionable B hostage deal with Iran.\">illicit nuclear program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/10444681\/authors#authors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a>, which was conducted under a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Solar Energy Technologies Office, was published in late February and lists among its seven authors, Mohammed Hasan Ravanji, a professor at the Sharif University of Technology. The school, as well as several of its research departments and staff, are sanctioned by the United States and other Western nations for aiding Iran\u2019s military and helping it produce ballistic missile technology, including weapons of mass destruction.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden DOE\u2019s relationship with the Iranian school is under the congressional microscope, with Sen. Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) pressing top administration officials to explain if any American taxpayer cash made its way to sanctioned entities. Ernst\u2019s concerns about this work surfaced publicly last week, when she <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9PeXofSG0ZE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">questioned<\/a> Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm about the grant but did not receive definitive answers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m not familiar with this grant,&#8221; Granholm said under questioning, adding that U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cruz-moves-to-take-taxpayer-money-from-iran-nuclear-deal-and-give-to-military-dogs\/\" title=\"Cruz Moves to Take Taxpayer Money from Iran Nuclear Deal and Give to Military Dogs\">taxpayer funds<\/a> generally should not be making their way to sanctioned countries or entities. Granholm promised to follow up on the matter but has yet to do so, sources told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. The DOE did not respond to a request for comment on how much the grant was for or how it was distributed.<\/p>\n<p>The issue was first brought to the DOE\u2019s attention in late March, when United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), a watchdog group that tracks sanctioned entities, informed U.S. officials that a researcher in its National Renewable Energy Laboratory published a paper alongside Sharif University\u2019s Ravanji.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The research was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-racial-anxiety-conquered-an-orchestra-and-crushed-a-career\/\" title=\"How Racial Anxiety Conquered an Orchestra and Crushed a Career\">grant-funded<\/a> by the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Solar Energy Technologies Office,&#8221; UANI wrote in the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/UANI_Ltr_NREL_03252024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a>, according to a copy obtained by the<em> Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The watchdog group noted that Sharif University and its affiliates &#8220;are variously sanctioned by the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for supporting entities involved in Iran&#8217;s military and in production and procurement for Iran\u2019s ballistic missile program proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The organization, at the time, asked the DOE to suspend all ties to Sharif University and explain the National Renewable Energy Laboratory&#8217;s &#8220;apparent cooperation&#8221; with the institution, warning that the school &#8220;works in highly sensitive regime-controlled sectors, is complicit in the development of WMD,&#8221; and &#8220;is subject to multiple sanctions designations from a range of authorities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ernst said that she is probing the research grant and is concerned about potential oversight lapses in the billions the DOE distributes each year. The research conducted with Sharif University\u2019s Ravanji is just one example of concerning funding initiatives, the senator said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Americans deserve to know if Biden\u2019s Department of Energy allowed taxpayer funds to fall into the hands of an Iranian researcher employed by a university sanctioned for its connections to Iran\u2019s nuclear program,&#8221; Ernst told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;I\u2019m demanding answers from Secretary Granholm to verify her Department is not funneling money\u2014either directly or indirectly\u2014to sanctioned Iranian research, and what steps she will take to ensure the integrity of taxpayer dollars are not called into question again.&#8221;\t<\/p>\n<p>As part of her efforts to crack down on these types of research projects, Ernst is pushing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/ernst-tracks-over-13-billion-of-us-tax-dollars-sent-to-china-and-russia-promises-accountability-for-every-penny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">legislation<\/a> that would force every government agency to publicly disclose every penny that gets sent to adversarial regimes, including Iran, China, Russia, and others.<\/p>\n<p>Around $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds have made their way to these countries since 2017, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ernst.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/ernst-tracks-over-13-billion-of-us-tax-dollars-sent-to-china-and-russia-promises-accountability-for-every-penny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> by Ernst\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Republican lawmaker expresses concerns about US taxpayer funds reaching sanctioned entities through a Biden administration-funded renewable energy research project. The project involved contributions from an Iranian scientist at a Tehran university under sanctions for supporting Iran&#8217;s illicit nuclear program. The research, part of a US Department of Energy solar grant, has raised alarms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2227390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/mohammad-20230219-copy-637x394_736x515.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2227389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/mohammad-20230219-copy-637x394_736x515.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227389","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=2227389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}