Iran Claims Access to Cache of Sensitive Israeli Nuclear Files
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Pentagon aide with past Iran ties appointed to less sensitive role
Pentagon aide previously linked by Iran International investigation to Tehran-led influence network has taken on a new role in the defense department. In her new position, she will have “significantly less access to intelligence and covert military programs,” according to former Defense Department officials interviewed by The Free Press. She previously served as a key aide to the since-suspended US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, whose own connections to Tehran were detailed in a subsequent investigation. The Pentagon did not specify the exact date when she left her last post, a report by Politico said she was offered the new position last month.
The Iranian-American academic will now oversee force education and training within Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s office. In her new position, she will have “significantly less access to intelligence and covert military programs,” according to former Defense Department officials interviewed by The Free Press.
The change in her access to intelligence comes more than a year after an extensive investigation by Iran International last September, based on a large cache of Iranian diplomatic emails, identified Tabatabai as a core member of the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI) — a network established by Iran’s foreign ministry in 2014 to promote Tehran’s interests within Western policy circles.
After the revelations linking her to the IEI, Tabatabai retained her role and security clearance as the Pentagon Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.
The report prompted multiple congressional investigations, with Republicans raising concerns about her ability to obtain a top-secret security clearance.
The Pentagon and State Department have said there was nothing in Tabatabai’s background that would have disqualified her from accessing classified information.
She previously served as a key aide to the since-suspended US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, whose own connections to Tehran were detailed in a subsequent investigation by Iran International in February.
New Position
In her new position, Tabatabai takes on expanded responsibilities overseeing force education and training—a shift from her previous role which generally entails more direct access to classified operational details.
While the Pentagon did not specify the exact date when she left her last post, a report by Politico said she was offered the new position last month.
The Pentagon, however, notified Congress about her transition to the new office on Friday, October 25, one week after the leak of US documents on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, according to the Free Press.
Sky News Arabia named Tabatabai as the one being investigated in the case, citing a Pentagon official. However, the Defense Department officially denied that she was a subject of interest in the investigation.
The emails reviewed in the 2023 Iran International investigation indicate Tabatabai consulted Iranian officials on professional matters, shared article drafts for review, and promoted Iran-aligned narratives on its nuclear policy.
Prior to Tabatabai’s elevation to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, the Free Beacon reported that the Biden White House hosted Tabatabai on eight occasions – after it was revealed that she had been at the heart of the Iranian influence network.
Those meetings sparked further concerns by senior Republican lawmakers about Tabatabai’s access to classified information long after US lawmakers called for a suspension of her security clearance and an investigation into her role and her recruitment process.
Leaked documents show US intelligence on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, sources say
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN. The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday. They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies. One of the documents also suggests something that Israel has always declined to confirm publicly: that the country has nuclear weapons. The leak comes at an extremely sensitive moment in US-Israeli relations and is bound to anger the Israelis, who have been preparing to strike Iran in response to Iran’s missile barrage on 1 October. It is not clear how the documents became public, nor whether they were hacked or deliberately leaked.
The US is investigating a leak of highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the people familiar confirmed the documents’ authenticity.
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.
The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator”.
They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies – Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
They describe preparations Israel appears to be making for a strike against Iran. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions around.
Another document says it is sourced to the National Security Agency and outlines Israeli air force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles, also believed to be in preparation for a strike on Iran. CNN is not quoting directly from or showing the documents.
A US official said the investigation is examining who had access to the alleged Pentagon document. Any such leak would automatically trigger an investigation by the FBI alongside the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. The FBI declined to comment.
The leak comes at an extremely sensitive moment in US-Israeli relations and is bound to anger the Israelis, who have been preparing to strike Iran in response to Iran’s missile barrage on 1 October. One of the documents also suggests something that Israel has always declined to confirm publicly: that the country has nuclear weapons. The document says the US has not seen any indications that Israel plans to use a nuclear weapon against Iran.
“If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, it is a serious breach,” said Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a retired CIA officer.
Mulroy added that “the future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded.”
The National Security Council referred CNN to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon for comment. The Pentagon and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency declined to comment. CNN has reached out to the National Security Agency for comment.
Another US official said that “these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more”.
It is not clear how the documents became public, nor whether they were hacked or deliberately leaked. The US is already on high alert about Iranian hacking campaigns – US intelligence agencies said in August that Iran had hacked documents belonging to Donald Trump’s campaign.
Axios first reported on the leaked documents Saturday.
A major leak of US intelligence last year also strained the US’ relationships with allies and partners, including South Korea and Ukraine, after a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman posted highly classified information on the social media platform Discord.
– CNN