The Pentagon has reassigned Ariane Tabatabai, whose name has been linked to a leak of intelligence documents regarding Israel’s strike plans on Iran, to a role with significantly reduced access to intelligence and classified military plans.
Although the Pentagon denied Tabatabai’s involvement in the leak, given her previous connections to Iran, it decided to move her to a position overseeing education and training within the Defense Secretary’s office.
Tabatabai served as the head of the Office of Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, a role that gave her unique access to high-level classified intelligence and information on nearly all U.S. covert operations. Her new position, by contrast, provides significantly limited access to intelligence and classified operational plans.
Independent of the leak controversy, some Republican members of Congress have spent the past year pushing to revoke Tabatabai’s security clearance over reported ties to Tehran.
Sky News Arabic reported a week ago that Tabatabai was the source of the leaked documents, which covered preparations for an Israeli strike on Iran and were published prior to the operation’s launch. Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder denied these reports, stating that the Pentagon is investigating the matter and coordinating with Israel. To date, the source of the leak has not been identified.
Tabatabai, an American of Iranian descent, previously held access to highly classified information. She formerly worked with Robert Malley, President Joe Biden’s ex-special envoy for Iran, who was dismissed about a year ago over improper connections with the Islamic Republic.
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