Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he was "most surprised" that a Pentagon worker who has shown sympathy for Iran has not been let go of her job in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Pompeo was asked about recent reports regarding Ariane Tabatabai, an Iranian-born Pentagon official, being allowed to keep her security clearance even though she was named as part of a covert influence campaign that is run by Tehran, the capital of Iran. It comes in the wake of Robert Malley, an envoy to Iran, having his security clearance suspended earlier this year.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT ENDORSED DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT
"I’m most surprised that the administration hasn’t put this person onward, hasn’t gotten them out of the Department of Defense," Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday. "She’s working in an organization that controls and operates our special operating forces around the world at a time of deep conflict. Look, this administration has always had a soft spot for the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Pompeo also wondered if the views and policies held by Tabatabai and Malley are "outliers" of the views held by the Biden administration.
The former secretary of state also expressed concern about a potential domestic terrorist attack, specifically about the southern border — a subject many Republicans have focused on in recent years. Pompeo's concerns stem from a lack of border security paving the way for terrorists to enter the United States.
"This is about a couple million folks who we have no idea where they are inside of the United States," Pompeo said. "And the attacks now six weeks on, on October 7th, were in the planning for months, if not years. Goodness knows what might be taking place inside the United States that has also been planned by Iran over the last months and years. It’s a real risk."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The U.S. is looking to help Israel in its conflict with the terrorist group Hamas, which has taken roughly 240 people hostage, some of whom are U.S. residents. Recently, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer stated that the two countries are "closer than we have been at any point" to making a hostage deal with Hamas, though did not specify details about the deal.
Earlier this month, Pompeo claimed that the Biden administration's "weakness" played a role in Hamas's attack on Israel and warned that further displayed weakness could lead to the crisis expanding "dramatically."