Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP
JAZZ SHAW | HotAir
One of the unsung anti-heroes of the Biden administration’s disastrous, failed effort to restart the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal was Robert Malley. He was Biden’s point man in the negotiations with Tehran that eventually collapsed in the face of Iran’s continually escalating demands. Malley reportedly walked into the negotiations offering Iran so many concessions up front that they couldn’t believe their eyes. Taking that as the United States’ “starting position,” they thought they could ask for the moon and proceeded to do so. But now, thanks to some leaked Iranian documents revealed by Jay Solomon at Semafor, we’ve learned that three of Malley’s top aides were covertly working as influencers on behalf of Iran. And these were the people supposedly structuring the negotiations on our behalf? You would think heads would already be rolling, but at least thus far, the Pentagon doesn’t even want to comment on the matter. (Free Beacon)
The Pentagon isn’t saying whether it is concerned, or plans to take any action, over a report Tuesday alleging that a senior Defense Department official is part of an Iranian influence network.
The report from Semafor, based on emails from senior Iranian officials, detailed a vast communications network, known as the Iran Experts Initiative, linked to the hardline regime in Tehran. That network, the emails suggest, includes the Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai as well as other “influential overseas academics” who reported to Iran’s foreign ministry and helped push Tehran’s talking points with American policymakers. The existence of this network was outlined in a cache of Iranian government documents reviewed by Semafor.
Tabatabai, who required a security clearance for her Pentagon job, and two others affiliated with the influence campaign also served as aides to Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley, who was suspended from his post earlier this year for allegedly mishandling classified information. It is unclear whether Malley’s suspension is related to his connection to the Iranian influence network documented in the Semafor report.
You can read the full report from Semafor here. It’s a lot to go through, but the details paint a very twisted picture of international intrigue. The Iranians set up a prodigious international influence network called the Iran Experts Initiative. Through that group, they enlisted influential people in Europe and the United States who would write op-eds favorable to the Iranian regime and support policies arguing in favor of allowing Iran to pursue its “peaceful” nuclear power program.
Ariane Tabatabai, who still works at the Pentagon, was one of three people on the Iran Experts Initiative List who wound up working as aides to Robert Malley. So if you were wondering how the Biden administration wound up offering such a generous deal to the Iranians only to have it thrown back in their faces, this might go a long way toward explaining it. Tabatabai was also, perhaps unsurprisingly, no fan of Israel. In one of the uncovered emails, she complains about the Israelis “spreading misinformation” when engaging with Saudi Arabia. As for Malley, he was suspended from his position earlier this year after his security clearance was yanked for allegedly mishandling classified information.
Curiously, the Pentagon has had very little to say about these revelations. But yesterday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller dismissed the report, telling reporters that it was based on information “from almost a decade ago.” That may be true for much of it, but the situation between the United States and Iran is still a shambles today. And Tabatabai is still on the payroll. Do we really want a documented Iranian influence peddler handling our affairs at the Pentagon? Miller also said that the situation “isn’t raising red flags” inside the Biden administration. Seriously?
In 2021, Tabatabai was tapped for a position in Biden’s State Department. The GOP raised plenty of “red flags” at the time and argued that her ties to the Iranian regime should disqualify her from having a Top Secret security clearance. The Biden administration dismissed these concerns as “racist smears” and ignored the objections, despite the fact that her father was considered a member of Hassan Rouhani’s inner circle.
Republican Congressman Jim Banks summed up the situation nicely. He said, “A high-level official at the Biden Defense Department was briefing Iran’s foreign ministry and ghostwriting essays for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Congress needs to investigate any communications between Ariane Tabatabai and the Iranian regime since Biden took office [and] the Pentagon must review Ms. Tabatatai’s security clearance.”
What in the Sam Hill is going on with the Biden administration? Why are we so much nicer to our nation’s adversaries than we are to our supposed allies? I could take a guess, but I’ll leave that question to the readers’ imaginations.
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