Israel’s proxy war with Iran was dealt a blow earlier this week when US documents detailing plans for a strike against the country leaked.
One name quickly appeared on the lips of Israeli intelligence sources following the event – Ariane Tabatabai.
Insiders within Israeli intelligence pointed out to The Post how the Iranian-born Pentagon official was previously named as part of an alleged covert influence campaign run by Tehran in October 2023. Republicans have gone as far as to call her a spy.
However, Tabatabai is still employed by US intelligence services – who have categorically denied she had anything to do with the leak.
The Israeli sources – smarting from having a potential retaliatory strike against Iran for its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel leaked by its closest ally – remain skeptical.
One Israeli intelligence official, speaking under condition of anonymity, told The Post: “If she did do it, it will be tracked down.”
The same official added: “The American intelligence community is way too embedded within our own intelligence community to insure that our classified information is adequately protected.”
Senior policy advisor Tabatabai previously appeared to be a willing recruit in an operation run by Tehran’s foreign ministry, as reported by news site Semafor in September 2023.
“She has been suspected of collaborating with the Islamic regime before,” a US-based Iran expert told The Post. “There were some calls for her to be stripped of her security clearance.”
Tabatabai also happened to work as a key aide to Robert Malley, the now-suspended Iran envoy who is said to have ties to the bloodthirsty Iranian regime, headed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He was discreetly placed on unpaid leave last year in connection to alleged mishandling of “protected material.”
At the time, Tabatabai was allowed to keep her $153,454 per year job.
More recently, she has been promoted within the defense department, rising from Chief of Staff to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training.
The Jerusalem Post described Tabatabai as an “official with alleged Iran ties amid leak probe and spy accusations”.
However, the Pentagon maintains Tabatabai is not suspected in the latest leak. During a press briefing on October 22, Major General Pat Ryder stated: “The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and is working closely with the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.”
After Ryder was specifically asked about Tabatabai, he replied “…the official that was being referenced is not a subject of interest.”
Tabatabai did not respond to calls for comment from The Post.
Echoing the Israeli source, the Iran expert pointed out how a number of people with security clearances could be behind the leak.
“There has been a lack of oversight about [multiple people] who are involved with Iran,” the expert said.
Besides bringing heat on Israel and the United States, according to the Israeli insider, the leak – regardless of who is behind it – served an important short-term benefit for Iran as it “derailed our planned strike.”
The Iran expert added there are broader detriments to the leak beyond a single incident: “The Islamic Regime is not only countering Israel. Iran has become enemy number one to America’s security interests as well. It’s against the Western world. This is the one topic that we should be highly, highly careful with.”
