The Pentagon has failed to respond in time to a congressional request for clarification on the hiring of a senior official with close ties to the regime in Iran.
Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee had required the Secretary of Defense to explain by October 3rd the decision to hire Arian Tabatabai, an Iranian American former analyst for a position with top level security clearance.
Neither the Defense Department nor any Biden administration official has offered an explanation about her status.
“The Department of Defense just blew past the October 3rd deadline,” read a post on the Armed Services GOP account on X (formerly Twitter). “We need answers on Ariane Tabatabai’s employment, her security clearance, and her relationship with the Iranian regime.”
Ariane Tabatabai serves as the Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (SOLIC). She drew much attention from lawmakers and activists after it was revealed in an investigative report by Iran International and Semafor that she had been a prominent member of an Iran-backed influence network –called the Iran Expert Initiative.
The revelation, based on a huge cache of leaked emails to and from the regime’s top diplomats was met with anger and disbelief at the Capitol.
The House Committee on Armed Services, which maintains oversight jurisdiction over the Department of Defense, wrote a letter to Secretary Lloyd Austin, expressing ‘deep concern’ with the hiring of Ariane Tabatabaei.
“No person…who acts as a foreign agent of influence, wittingly or unwittingly, should wield any synch influence over United States policy, or have access to such sensitive information,” the letter read.
The signatories, Mike Rogers and Jack Bergman (Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operation, respectively) asked Secretary Austin seven questions about Tabatabai, her employment and her clearance.
“Was Ms Tabatabai hired as a political appointee, a highly qualified expert, or a GS employee?” one question to Austin read. Another was, “what were her unique qualifications with respect to ASD/SOLIC that led to her hiring?”
But the Pentagon has so far refused to address the issue, despite numerous and persistent calls by lawmakers. The administration has also refused to take any visible action, such as suspending her security clearance or announcing an official investigation.
Senator Bill Hagerty has been one of the more vocal on this subject–and is still waiting for detailed info from the Pentagon. He’s one of around 30 Senators who demanded suspension of Tabatabai’s security clearance.
On Wednesday, he told Iran International he was "deeply concerned about the influence that the Iranian regime has been able to place on the Biden administration."
"It starts with Rob Malley,” Hagerty emphasized, “there's deep concern there about why his security clearance has been taken away.”
Robert Malley was Biden’s special envoy on Iran until late April, when his security clearance was suspended. He was then placed on unpaid leave in June. It’s not clear if the Iranian influence operation had anything to do with his suspension.
Malley is currently under FBI investigation for mishandling of classified material. Republicans in both the House and the Senate have been trying in vain to obtain information from the State Department.
Senator Hagerty told Iran International that he was “unsatisfied” with lack of response from the Biden administration, but that he will continue to press the State Department for answers.
Ariane Tabatabai worked for the State Department before joining the Pentagon. She was a close associate of Malley, serving on his team during the nuclear negotiations with Iran in 2021.