UPDATED: Sources Point to Pro-Iran Defense Official as the Leaker of Documents on Israeli War Strategy

A senior US official speaking on background has named a top Department of Defense official as the prime suspect in a high-profile leak of top-secret Department of Defense documents to an account on the social media platform Telegram linked to the Tehran regime. Ariane Tabatabai, who is chief of staff to Christopher P. Maier, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, was identified by Sky News Arabia as being under suspicion for leaking documents of Israel’s military plan to strike Iran.

The reporting corroborates that of RedState’s Managing Editor, who reported Saturday night that, based on information from US intelligence officials, the leak came from Maier’s office.

Friday, a Telegram account with ties to the Tehran regime posted highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran on Friday; see Top Secret US Documents on Israel’s Plans for Retaliation Appear on a Tehran-Linked Social Media Platform. The Middle East Spectator included a report by the Department of Defense “detailing operations carried out in recent days at several Israeli air force bases, including the transfer of advanced munitions that the report said were intended for attacks on Iran.” The documents appeared to originate within the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. According to CNN, one person in the intelligence community confirmed the authenticity of the documents, thereby raising the level of seriousness of the breach.

As chief of staff to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, Tabatabai has access to the highest levels of intelligence in the US government and knowledge of all ongoing US special operations forces activities. Tabatabai has long been suspected of having Iranian ties. She was brought into the US government as a protege of the disgraced Robert Malley, who had his security clearance yanked for leaking classified documents to Tehran but somehow managed to avoid prosecution.

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In September 2023, several US Senators demanded answers from the Department of Defense about how Tabatabai was hired and her current level of intelligence access.

Senators Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Katie Britt, R-Ala., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Todd Young, R-Ind., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, John Kennedy, R-La., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, John Cornyn, R-Texas, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., James Lankford, R-Okla., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and John Thune, R-S.D. joined the letter.

Despite the furor, she retained her position.

At this point, the allegations against Tabatabai are just that. That said, there is more than enough circumstantial evidence to indicate that she should not be employed in a position to either influence our policy with Iran and its neighbors or with access to classified information.