News/Commentary

Biden envoy hires secretly linked to foreign influence network

September 27, 2023 | | Print Article

It appears that multiple officials working for President Biden’s Iran envoy were secretly part of a foreign influence network.

The embarrassing discovery further confirms how dangerous Biden’s Iran envoy, Robert Malley, was before he was removed from his post. Malley was a big part of the Iran nuclear deal.

“At least three one-time advisers to suspended Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley were part of an Iranian Foreign Ministry plot to influence U.S. policy, according to a Tuesday Semafor report based on leaked foreign ministry emails,” The Washington Free Beacon reported.

“Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai, think-tank adviser Dina Esfandiary, and Malley protégé Ali Vaez were part of the Islamist government’s Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), a scheme to recruit experts who would ‘bolster Tehran’s image and positions on global security issues,’ according to the report,” the media outlet noted.

Vaez was outed for communicating with Mostafa Zahrani, one of the two Iranian officials behind the Iran Experts Initiative. One email indicated that he looked forward to Zahrani’s “comments and feedback” on an article he wrote. Zahrani forwarded his email to Iran’s then-foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, the other official behind the initiative, who described himself, Tabatabai, and Esfandiary as “the core group of the IEI” in March 2014.

Semafor went on to detail more on Tabatabai, “Ariane Tabatabai, the current Pentagon official, on at least two occasions checked in with Iran’s Foreign Ministry before attending policy events, according to the emails. She wrote to Zahrani in Farsi on June 27, 2014, to say she’d met Saudi Prince Turki al Faisal — a former ambassador to the U.S. — who expressed interest in working together and invited her to Saudi Arabia.”

“She also said she’d been invited to attend a workshop on Iran’s nuclear program at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. ‘I am not interested in going, but then I thought maybe it would be better that I go and talk, rather than an Israeli like Emily Landau who goes and disseminates disinformation. I would like to ask your opinion too and see if you think I should accept the invitation and go,'” the outlet wrote concerning Tabatabai.

Esfandiary, Tabatabai, and Vaez all reportedly “worked closely with Malley over the past decade,” according to Semafor. Both Esfandiary and Vaez advised the think tank that was headed by Malley before he joined the Biden administration in 2021. Tabatabai served on Malley’s team prior to being chief of staff for the assistant secretary of defense for special operations.

Iran International reported at one point that Malley attempted to appoint Vaez to a government position but he couldn’t get a security clearance.

Malley had his security clearance and credentials yanked earlier in July according to the Free Beacon. Per leaked State Department documents, he’s facing accusations of mishandling sensitive information, personal misconduct, and misuse of classified networks. The FBI is investigating Malley, according to Semafor.

“The Tehran Times, the Iranian state-run media source that leaked the State Department documents, has claimed that Malley is routinely in contact with ‘unofficial advisers of Iranian descent,'” the Free Beacon reported.

Republicans called for an investigation in August to look into how the propaganda outlet got a hold of the documents, according to Politico.

The Free Beacon is reporting that sources have told them that Malley might have “leaked classified information to a network of pro-Tehran advocates who supported the Obama administration’s Iran deal.”

“As Malley negotiated the deal in April 2015, Zahrani and Khatibzadeh ‘boasted to their superiors in internal emails about the initiative’s successes,’ Semafor reported. Khatibzadeh in one email trumpeted ‘the media footprint of each IEI academic,’ including Tabatabai, Vaez, and Esfandiary. The Malley advisers aren’t the only IEI affiliates, though: The initiative also established ties with officials in European think tanks, according to Iran International,” the Washington Free Beacon wrote.

Despite Republicans demanding an investigation be conducted, the Biden administration has blocked their efforts. Originally, the State Department claimed that Malley was on leave for personal reasons. They did not bother to inform Congress about the investigation concerning Malley.

The State Department has not provided a clear answer on why the security clearance for Malley was revoked in the spring.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller dismissed the story on Tuesday claiming it contained information from “almost a decade ago” and referred further questions to the Pentagon for answers according to the Free Beacon.

The Pentagon has never addressed the story publicly and is not likely to do so as it would be a definite black eye for Democrats.

Latest posts by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles