Pentagon staffer suspected to have leaked classified Israeli-Irani documents
An anonymous official quoted by Sky News Arabia claims that Ariane Tabatabai is being investigated over the security breach at the Defense Department.
Iron Dome air defense system missiles are launched in the vicinity of Haifa, Israel.
An anonymous Pentagon source has named the person suspected of leaking classified documents about the Israeli response to Iran's massive missile attack. According to a Tuesday report published by Sky News Arabia, it appears to be Ariane Tabatabai, a Pentagon adviser of Iranian origin.
The accusation reported by Sky News Arabia is based on an anonymous source. Shortly after the news was published, Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin claimed that the Sky News report is inaccurate.
According to Griffin, there are still no suspects in the FBI's leak investigation nor has the FBI reported any suspects to date. The sources consulted by Griffin also refute claims that the suspect is among the staff of the Undersecretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict, including individuals like Ariane Tabatabai.
However, Tabatabai has not lost her security clearance at the Pentagon and continues to carry out her duties as normal.
The accusation by Sky News Arabia, a British-Emirati media outlet, is not unusual. Ariane Tabatabai's name already appeared in reports by Semafor and Iran International, an Iranian opposition media outlet based in London, as part of a plot by writers and intellectuals connected to the Iranian regime.
Pentagon security breach
The materials in question were produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. They were also shared with members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance, which includes the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Currently, the intelligence agencies have only confirmed that they are aware of the reports regarding the link.
The disclosed information reportedly includes plans to relocate munitions and deploy air-to-surface missiles as part of Israel's response to the Iranian missile activity. One of the documents is said to confirm that Israel possesses nuclear weapons (although these are not included in the response plan to Iran).
Following these reports, four U.S. senators wrote a formal letter to the Pentagon requesting it launch an investigation into the connection between Tabatabai and the ayatollahs' regime. The senators, Roger Wicker, Mike Crapo, Charles Grassley and John Cornyn, all Republicans, got the information from Semafor to question Lloyd Austin's Defense Department about Tabatabai's position at the Pentagon and her access to classified material.
However, the Pentagon did not then rescind Tabatabai's security clearances. Both the State Department and the Pentagon supported Ariane Tabatabai and the vetting process involved in approving her security clearance. "Dr. Tabatabai was thoroughly and properly vetted as a condition of her employment with the Department of Defense. We are honored to have her services," the Pentagon said in a statement picked up by Semafor.
Tabatabai and the Iran Experts Initiative
Tabatabai was raised in Tehran. She majored in international geopolitical studies. Even before she began working for the U.S. administration, she advocated to negotiate with the Iranian regime rather than have a direct confrontation.
When she went to work for the State Department, she was hired to work on Biden's special envoy team for Iran. She also worked for negotiator Robert Malley. Malley was removed from her position when a journalistic investigation focused on her relationship with Iran.
Tabatabai is still employed with the federal government. The journalistic investigations focused on her membership in an informal group of individuals who have ties to
The Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), a program developed from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the aim of favoring the public relations of the regime of the ayatollahs.
Tabatabai had spoken with members of the Islamist government. The adviser has not provided comments to the media about the inquiries from Semafor and Iran International. However, other writers who are also on the alleged IEI lists have made some statements claiming that this program is an outreach opportunity and not an intelligence operation.
Elissa Jobson from the Crisis Group think tank, created by Robert Malley, told Semafor that the IEI was an "informal platform" that gave researchers from different organizations the opportunity to meet with Iranian officials and that it was financially supported by European institutions and a European government that she did not name.
"To explain it a little better, it was a means of facilitating discussions about the investigation and not a more formal entity where participants could be directed by anyone," Jobson added.
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