Pentagon Aide Part of ‘Covert Campaign’ to Undermine Iran Opposition: Report

Here’s the latest on Iran’s inside Pentagon influence operation…
No Serious Country Would Allow Terrorist Sympathizers To Run Its Government

There used to be a time when taking directions from America’s adversaries would be considered treasonous. But in today’s world, doing so can gain you access to the highest levels of the U.S. government.

On Monday, the New York Post reported a high-ranking Pentagon official with ties to the Iranian government has “sought to undermine the leading group resisting” the Middle Eastern nation’s dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to the Post, Ariane Tabatabai, the chief of staff for the assistant secretary of defense for special operations at the Defense Department, was among several individuals to partake in a “covert campaign” to delegitimize Iran’s “leading opposition group, known as the Mojahedin-e Khalq.

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New report in ⁦@nypost⁩ indicates how Iranian opposition group MEK was undermined and ultimately betrayed by its US allies after the Pentagon was infiltrated by an Iranian influence operation. ⁦@LeeSmithDC⁩ https://t.co/98c4WZuMrE

— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) November 13, 2023

Pentagon aide part of ‘covert campaign’ to undermine Iran opposition: report.

An Iranian-born Pentagon aide, who was revealed earlier this year to be part of a years-long, Tehran-backed influence operation, also sought to undermine the leading group resisting the Ayatollah Ali… pic.twitter.com/HHBcaeU5q6

— Sal Gueli (@sal_gueli) November 13, 2023

Pentagon aide part of ‘covert campaign’ to undermine Iran opposition: report

By Josh Christenson, NY Post, Nov. 13, 2023:

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An Iranian-born Pentagon aide, who was revealed earlier this year to be part of a years-long, Tehran-backed influence operation, also sought to undermine the leading group resisting the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a new report delivered to President Biden.

Ariane Tabatabai has retained her security clearance and position as chief of staff to the Pentagon’s assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict — despite a bombshell Semafor report in September detailing her ties to senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials.

But Tabatabai and founding members of the influence operation, known as the Iran Experts Initiative, were also engaged in a “covert campaign” to smear the nation’s leading opposition group, known as the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), according to a recent report endorsed by former vice presidential national security adviser Lincoln Bloomfield and written by a University of Baltimore professor.

“By seeking to neutralize favorable impressions of the organization among Washington’s foreign policy elite, Tehran sought to take down an entity capable of aiding Western attempts to curtail the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program, malign regional agenda, human rights abuses, and fundamentalist inclinations,” writes Ivan Sascha Sheehan, an associate dean of UB’s College of Public Affairs.

“By brazenly targeting the highly effective dissident organization, the operatives hoped to leave US officials with the false impression that there is no viable alternative to the ayatollahs — and certainly not one with a pro-democracy record that remains committed to toppling clerical rule.”
Ariana Tabatabai
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