The Pentagon is taking a second look into allegations that one of its senior officials was part of an influence operation orchestrated by the Iranian government — after insisting earlier this week that she had been properly vetted during her background investigation.
Ariane Tabatabai is the chief of staff for Chris Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. The Semafor news agency recently reported that she was part of the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), an initiative established by Tehran’s Foreign Ministry to improve Iran’s image abroad.
According to Semafor, Ms. Tabatabai “checked in” with the Iranian ministry on at least two occasions before attending security policy events. In 2014, she told Iranian officials about being scheduled to testify on the pending Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, a deal that would be signed a year later only to be repudiated by President Trump in 2018.
She also told Mostafa Zahari, the head of an in-house think tank at the Foreign Ministry, about an article she published in the Boston Globe that downplayed the notion Tehran was seeking its programs in order to obtain a nuclear bomb, according to the Semafor report.
On Tuesday, a senior Defense Department official told The Washington Times that Ms. Tabatabai passed her security clearance to work at the Pentagon and that they were “honored” to have her serve.
On Thursday, Mr. Maier appeared to walk back that glowing endorsement during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. He told Rep. Brian Mast, Florida Republican, that it was now an “ongoing personnel matter.”
“We are actively looking into whether all law and policy was properly followed in granting my chief of staff top secret, special compartmented information” clearance, Mr. Maier said.
He didn’t know if Ms. Tabatabai had taken a polygraph test or had fully documented any past contacts with foreign officials as part of her background check.
“I don’t have that level of detail - what went into her security clearance,” Mr. Maier said.
Ms. Tabatabai earlier worked for Robert Malley, the State Department’s special envoy to Iran who was a key architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. His security clearance was suspended earlier this year but the State Department has yet to provide a clear answer for why it was revoked.
Participants in the Iran Experts Initiative such as Ms. Tabatabai have denied the group was under the control of the Iranian government, saying it was financed by an unnamed European government. Leading European powers, including France and Germany, opposed the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and have worked since then, unsuccessfully, to revive it.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.