US Labels Iran, North Korea As Persistent WMD 'Threats'

The official in question is ArianeTabatabaei who serves as chief of staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, a senior position with top-secret security clearance.

Earlier this week, Iran International and Semafor reported that Tabatabaei had been a major actor in an information operation initiated by the Iranian foreign ministry to mollify the regime’s image and promote its positions internationally.

The revelation shocked many in Washington. Republican lawmakers demanded explanations. The Pentagon first defended the official but then confirmed Thursday that the matter had to be –and indeed was– being investigated.

Friday afternoon, it emerged that a coalition of Republican Senators, including ranking members from Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, had sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to call for immediate action to ensure that his Department was not “compromised.”

“We urge you to suspend Ms Tabatabaei’s security clearance immediately pending further review, as the State Department did with her former supervisor, Robert Malley.”

Malley was the Biden administration’s special envoy to Iran, playing an instrumental role in the nuclear negotiations and in forming overall US policy towards the regime in Tehran. He is now being investigated by the FBI for mishandling classified material.

It’s not clear if Malley’s suspension is related to the Iranian influence operation, the now-infamous Iran Expert Initiative described in Iran International’s investigative report. By mentioning his name in their letter, however, the senators have hinted that they think the two cases may be linked –and betray a chronic problem in the administration’s Iran policy.

“In March 2021,” the senators note, “shortly after Ms. Tabatabai was appointed senior adviser in the Office of the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Iranian dissidents noted Ms. Tabatabai's long history of echoing the Iranian regime's talking points. In April 2021, several House members requested a review of Ms. Tabatabai's security clearance. In response, the Biden administration dismissed these allegations as smears and slander.”

The senators then write: “the latest allegations… indicate that Ms. Tabatabai may have been engaged in a relationship with the Iranian regime well beyond what even her strongest critics alleged.”

Tabatabaei has been heavily criticized by many users on Persian social media for her comments on the nuclear issue, popular protests in Iran, and the downing of the Ukrainian passenger flight PS752 by the IRGC.

The critics have always maintained that her views –and the views of a few other Iranian ‘experts’ outside Iran, are often indistinguishable from the official line trumpeted by the regime. They have all been accused by regime critics of colluding with the Islamic Republic and whitewashing its crimes. Those accused, however, flatly dismiss the accusations as ‘smear’, ‘slander’ and often ‘misogyny.’

This is the first time that a report substantiates the claims of close, longstanding and lopsided relationship between the Islamic Republic and a loose network of activists, academics and journalists living abroad.

“We find it simply unconscionable that a senior Department official would continue to hold a sensitive position despite her alleged participation in an Iranian government information operation,” reads the Senate letter to the Defense Secretary Austin.

Several American officials, as well as a few Iranian activists outside Iran, have come out in defense of Tabatabaei and her work. Interestingly, the Iranian government has so far remained silent about the affair.

Mohammad Hassan Asafari Conveyed his concerns to the Didban Iran [Iran Monitor] website in Tehran that the government should not assume that the people will remain silent in the face of rising prices and other economic problems. He emphasized that there is no guaranty Iranians would always remain quiet regardless of the government’s performance.

Didban Iran noted that previous protests in 2018 and 2019 were driven by economic motives. Even last year's protests, which primarily revolved around political and cultural issues, at times revealed underlying economic grievances among the population. Iranian sociologists have repeatedly warned that economic problems have the potential to spark further protests in Iran. 

Asafari pointed out the government's weak track record in addressing the country's economic problems, which could potentially trigger another round of protests due to increasing prices.

The lawmaker also drew attention to the fact that foreign sanctions disproportionately impact the lower and middle classes, as inflation hovers around 50 percent and the income gap widens. 

Regime insiders holding lucrative posts in the government and the state-controlled economy, getting a much bigger share of the wealth, has been a growing problem in Iran for the past decade.

Didban Iran reiterated that the protests in 2018 and 2019 had economic motivations and even last year's protests which were mainly about political and cultural issues at times reflected the people's economic concerns. The website added that Iranian sociologists have repeatedly warned that economic problems can potentially trigger a new round of protests in Iran. 

Asafari argued that the people's grievances are genuine, and they have every right to protest. There are economic concerns in the Iranian society to which the government should attend. He added that while the whole country is under the pressure of sanctions, the underprivileged groups feel those pressures more than others. Pensioners and low-paid workers are under redoubled pressures and that is not fair, the lawmaker said. 

Because Iran’s currency has fallen by another 50-percent since mid-2022 and 12-fold since 2018, the minimum wage that many workers earn has dropped to less than $150 a month, while a family of three needs at least three times as much to afford the bare minimum of daily needs.

Meanwhile, Iranian Hossein Bayat, an attorney, emphasized the economic implications of the cultural limitations the government imposes on Iranians. He said the new hijab enforcement law is telling the people that the government can force you to pay fines for what you wear only because it can.

The new law forces women who remove their headscarves to pay hefty fines. If they are in a car, the driver could also be forced to pay a penalty while his car can be held at a police pound for several weeks. 

Some critics argue that while the law was meant to protect the government's official ideology, it is now a means of getting money from the people to make up for the government's budget deficit. 

Bayat explained: "This new law say to women: You are not even safe at your own home or in your car. We can always charge you with some accusation and bring you face to face with the government."

The 70-article legislation has already been approved by the Iranian parliament, with its final ratification pending approval by the Guardian Council, a non-elected body that operates under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In another development, former lawmaker Ali Motahari warned that the intervention of hardline clerics in state affairs has alienated them from the people. He argued that hardline clerics who align themselves with the government have sacrificed their independence.

Motahari asserted that if clerics refrained from participating in the government, they could have acted as independent observers to criticize the government's performance and prevent deviations. 

According to Iranian state news agencies, "Following the announcement of the death sentence of a prisoner in Ramhormoz prison, several prisoners started a riot by starting a fire.”

"Gunfire could be heard from outside the prison," Mehr News said. 

Gholamreza Roshan, the director-general of Khuzestan’s prisons, told a reporter with IRGC-affiliated Fars news that the unrest occurred after a convict was given a death sentence for murder.

"Some inmates in the same ward as the condemned individual instigated the unrest under the pretext of defending him," he added.

He also claimed that immediate action was taken by prison authorities, and the situation in the prison is under control. However, there was no independent assessment of the situation.

Earlier in the month, another fire was reported in a prison near the capital Tehran on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini, whose death triggered the biggest anti-regime protests in Iran. State media said female convicts on death row set fire to the women's ward at the Qarchak penitentiary by burning their clothes.

Also on that day, detainees in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison gathered in protest to mark the occasion, chanting slogans against the regime, refusing to enter their cells, and setting fire to their headscarves in the prison courtyard.

Iran International and Semafor this week simultaneously published similar versions of the report, shedding light on the Islamic Republic's influence network (IEI) within the United States and Western decision-making circles. The report garnered significant attention in the German media landscape. Notable publications such as Die Welt, Berliner Zeitung, Bild, and Taz have extensively covered this revelation.

Die Welt, in an article titled "A trace of the Iran network also leads to Berlin," emphasized the sensitivity of the publication’s timing and raised questions about the inclusion of a German name within the report. The publication expressed surprise at the lack of coverage by major American newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, regarding this crucial and sensitive matter.

Die Welt referring to an email sent by Adnan Tabatabai to Iranian former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in which Tabatabai offers that members IEI (Iran Experts Initiative) could write articles to be published under the names of current or former Iranian officials potentially using false authorship, to promote Iran’s views in the West.

Die Welt's perspective underscores the uniqueness of this situation, noting that among the experts mentioned in the Iran International report, only Adnan Tabatabai disputes the authenticity of the disclosed documents. Regardless of the material's authenticity, the article raises questions about the boundaries between independent experts and their areas of expertise. It emphasizes that IEI members in this context have openly advocated for a diplomatic approach in negotiations with Iran, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining independence within their respective fields of expertise.

Berliner Zeitung has raised the possibility that one of Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs partners, Adnan Tabatabai, may have acted as a "Ghost writer" for the Iranian authorities within Germany. This revelation has the potential to be a critical situation for FM Analena Baerbock.

There are suspicions that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may have also provided support to a think tank closely aligned with the Iranian government.

According to Berliner Zeitung, Adnan Tabatabai has made multiple public appearances alongside Analena Baerbock in the past, and his think tank, Carpo, has received significant funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Over one million euros of public tax funds have been allocated to Carpo as a partner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for various dialogue projects. Adnan Tabatabai serves as the CEO of Carpo.

The discussion surrounding this issue has also been extensively covered by Taz and Bild. Bild, published a photo of Adnan Tabatabai alongside German Foreign Minister Baerbock, raising questions about potential ties to Iranian intelligence. The article implies that Tabatabai’s interactions with the federal foreign minister go beyond mere support for Iran's authoritarian regime.

Furthermore, Bild highlights a serious suspicion that Adnan Tabatabai actively engaged with the Iranian regime to promote public relations for Iran’s nuclear program. The leaked emails provide insights into how the Iranian regime utilized initiatives to influence the foreign policies of Western nations, with some experts reportedly obtaining government positions in the United States.

Despite being the sole individual vehemently denying the contents of the Iran International report, Adnan Tabatabai has repeatedly defended and whitewashed the Islamist regime in the media in recent years.

Die Welt claims that the German MFA has not answered its questions about Adnan Tabatabai, raising more questions about the extent of IEI's influence on the relationship between the United States and Iran.

However, the German MFA sent a short reply to the Berliner Zeitung, stating, “Previous project funding never resulted in privileged, exclusive, or advisory access to the Foreign Ministry.” In a recent interview with Die Welt, Tabatabai reported on his "exchange of content with employees of Germany MFA," based on current developments and conducted in person.

Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, who is a former commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guard, said Friday that after the targeted killing of IRGC’s Quds force commander Qassem Soleimani, “the Supreme Leader ordered the missile strike on the Ayn al-Asad airbase (in western Iraq) within a short period.”

On January 3, 2020, former US President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Soleimani. The US justified the action by saying that Soleimani was actively planning attacks against American diplomats and military personnel in Iraq and the broader region.

Rahim-Safavi also claimed that Trump anticipating Iranian retaliation "had ordered his military commanders to be prepared to retaliate but hey argued that if we respond to Iran, Iran has already prepared its missiles, and all our armed forces in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain will be vulnerable to Iranian missile strikes, and we cannot withstand it.”

“We had really prepared our missiles," he added, perhaps referring to the high alert status of Iran’s military forces that led to the IRGC's downing of a Ukrainian airliner killing all 176 passengers and crew. The airliner was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the IRGC as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport as the IRGC was anticipating retaliation for its ballistic missile attack that targeted the base.

“Today, we have become so strong that even our enemies like the United States and the Zionists (Israel) do not even think about attacking us,” he said. His sentiment was echoed by Iraj Masjedi, another former senior Quds force commander earlier in the day. Masjedi was also Iran's ambassador to Iraq and a top advisor to Soleimani.