August 2, 2024
Two Republicans have launched an
investigation into Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security
adviser, arguing that he has close ties to a network created by the
Iranian government to influence the American government.
The Biden administration has had
several advisors who have appeared to have disturbing connections to
Iran. The White House has given the Islamic Republic billions of
dollars, and intelligence services recently revealed that Iran plans to do everything it can to stop Donald Trump from winning the presidency, going so far as to assassinate him.
The Washington Free Beacon reports
that “in a Wednesday letter to Harris, Cotton, and Stefanik asked the
presumptive Democratic nominee to provide information about her adviser
Phil Gordon’s “connections to Ms. Ariane Tabatabai, a senior Department
of Defense official who was reportedly involved in an Iranian government
operation to expand Tehran’s soft power in the United States.”
Gordon, the letter notes, coauthored at least three opinion pieces with Tabatabai that argued against sanctions on the Iranian regime.
Tabatabai was outed last year as an alleged member of an Iranian-run
influence network that reported back to Tehran’s foreign ministry.
Gordon’s connections
to Tabatabai are fueling concerns ahead of the 2024 election. Gordon is
likely to play a central national security role in a Harris White House,
and his connections to pro-Tehran advocacy groups suggest that renewed
diplomacy with Iran will be a top foreign policy priority for Harris if
she is elected.
Cotton and Stefanik
are primarily concerned about Gordon’s access to classified information
and want to know if his ties to Tehran’s enablers might disqualify him
from holding a top-secret security clearance.
Gordon, the lawmakers note, published pieces with Tabatabai “blatantly promoting the Iranian regime’s perspective and interests.” Those pieces were published after the time Tabatabai was alleged to be working for the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), an influence network that included several American policymakers associated with the Biden administration’s former Iran envoy, Robert Malley, who was indefinitely suspended from his job amid allegations that he leaked classified information.
Trump holds a significant lead over Kamala Harris when it comes to handling foreign policy.
The congressional investigation
comes as the Middle East appears to be on the brink of war following
Israel’s assassination of several Iranian commanders and the political
leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh. The actions came shortly after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress and met privately with Kamala Harris. Some have speculated
that his conversations with the Democratic frontrunner and her staff
led to his decision to act now before a pro-Hamas president takes
office.
The killing of Haniyeh sent a clear message from Israel: we can attack you in Iran.
The New York Times revealed how the daring plan to take out one of Hamas’s leaders went down.
“Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of
Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly
smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to
seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official.
The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.
Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran’s capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard.
The explosion shook the building, shattered some windows and
caused the partial collapse of an exterior wall, according to the two
Iranian officials, members of the Revolutionary Guards briefed on the
incident. Such damage was also evident in a photograph of the building
shared with The New York Times.”
The newspaper also reported that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an order for Iran to respond by attacking Israel directly.
“Mr. Khamenei gave the order at an
emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on
Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Mr. Haniyeh had been killed,
said the three Iranian officials, including two members of the
Revolutionary Guards. They asked that their names not be published
because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Through almost 10
months of war in Gaza, Iran has tried to strike a balance, putting
pressure on Israel with sharply increased attacks by its allies and
proxy forces in the region, while avoiding an all-out war between the two nations.
In April, Iran made its biggest
and most overt attack on Israel in decades of hostility, launching
hundreds of missiles and drones in retaliation for an Israeli strike on
its embassy compound that killed several Iranian military commanders in
Damascus, Syria. But even that show of force was telegraphed well in
advance, nearly all the weapons were shot down by Israel and its allies, and little damage was done.”
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