Haven’t we all wondered over the years why both the Biden and Obama administrations have taken actions that were much more beneficial to Iran than to the United States?  Investigative reporter Lee Smith, writing in TABLET, explains at least part of the mechanism behind this:

“The Biden administration’s now-suspended Iran envoy Robert Malley helped to fund, support and direct an Iranian intelligence operation designed to influence the United States and allied governments, according to a trove of purloined Iranian government emails,” which were “published last week after being extensively verified over a period of several months” by independent news source IRAN INTERNATIONAL and by veteran WALL STREET JOURNAL correspondent Jay Solomon.

We learn from these emails that the Iranian regime used a pool of Iranian academics who had pledged their personal loyalty to that regime.  They would meet in foreign countries to “receive instructions” from top regime officials.  These operatives, Smith reports, played on their Iranian heritage and Western academic positions to influence U.S. policy towards Iran.  Malley reportedly supported the efforts of the members of this circle, both inside and outside of government.

And, yes, Malley served as the U.S. government’s chief interlocutor (defined as “one who is involved in conversation”) with Iran for both the Biden and Obama administrations.  It’s all starting to become clearer.

This circle of operatives was, as described in one email from one Iranian official to one of Iran’s lead nuclear negotiators, “a core group of 6-10 second-generation Iranians who have established affiliation with the leading international think-tanks and academic institutions, mainly in Europe and the U.S.”

For when you have time, this article offers much more detail about how our State Department was infiltrated by these operatives.  One Malley protege, Ariane Tabatabai, even briefed members of Congress on the Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, and apparently it was all in service to Iran.  Correspondence shows that she “was an active participant in a covert Iranian influence campaign designed to shape U.S. policy in order to serve the interests of the Iran regime,” taking her guidance from “top Iranian officials.”

Peter Theroux, a veteran Mideast analyst who is now retired from the CIA after 25 years of service and receiving the Career Intelligence Medal, said, “I know what a spy network looks like.”  He recognizes this correspondence as “the way recruited assets speak to their handling officers.”

The State Department predictably “rejects the characterization” of this as a spy ring.  “Rob Malley remains on leave and we have no further comment due to privacy considerations,” they said.  “The Biden-Harris administration appointed Ariane Tabatabai to serve various roles in the U.S. government because of her expertise on nuclear and other foreign policy issues.”  But according to Theroux, it seems likely that the Biden administration was well aware of her alleged covert activities on behalf of the Iranian regime.  They way he describes the process for a top-level security clearance, they hardly could not have been.  “Contacts with any foreign government raise more red flags than a Bernie Sanders honeymoon,” he said.  (And that’s saying a lot!)

He went on: “Contacts with senior officials from enemy governments, classified as non-frat governments like Russia, China, Cuba, as well as Iran, are in a different category altogether, what would normally be totally disqualifying.”

Not disqualifying for the Obama and Biden administrations, though.  We hate to keep linking to stories that are going to make you very angry, but let’s face it, more and more stories these days are going to do that.  They just are.

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/iran-spy-ring-robert-malley-lee-smith