In a recent development that could impact the 2024 election, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) have initiated an investigation into Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser, Philip H. Gordon, over his alleged connections to an Iranian government influence network. On Wednesday, July 31st, Cotton and Stefanik sent a letter to Harris seeking information on Gordon’s ties to Ariane Tabatabai, a senior Department of Defense official said to be involved in an Iranian soft power operation in the United States.
Cotton and Stefanik’s letter highlights Gordon’s collaboration with Tabatabai, co-authoring several opinion pieces that argued against imposing sanctions on Iran. These concerns are rooted in Tabatabai’s alleged involvement in the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), an influence network linked to Tehran’s foreign ministry. The IEI included several American policymakers, including Robert Malley, a former Iran envoy suspended amid allegations of leaking classified information.
The lawmakers expressed worries about Gordon’s access to classified information and questioned whether his ties to Tehran’s enablers might disqualify him from holding a top-secret security clearance. They pointed out Gordon and Tabatabai writings which have promoted the Iranian regime’s perspective, with predictions in their articles favoring Tehran’s stance.
Gordon also has connections to the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which has faced allegations of being Iran’s unregistered lobbying arm in America, and was prominent during the Obama administration’s diplomatic efforts with Iran. Gordon spoke at NIAC’s Leadership Conference in 2014 and 2016, during his tenure in the Obama administration working on the nuclear agreement with Iran.
As Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election, Gordon’s connections to Tabatabai and pro-Tehran advocacy groups have become a focal point of concern. Cotton and Stefanik emphasized the potential implications of Gordon’s influence on national security and foreign policy, particularly regarding renewed diplomacy with Iran.
Congresswoman Stefanik told Global Justice News, “Since last year, I have demanded accountability from the Department of Defense for allowing Iranian regime acolytes to infiltrate high level government staff. The Biden-Harris Administration policy of appeasing Iran and abandoning Israel will only worsen if Kamala Harris and her Iranian apologist staff are elevated. I am proud to join Senator Cotton to demand accountability.”
As the 2024 election approaches, the investigation launched by Senator Cotton and Representative Stefanik is likely to fuel further discussions on the Biden-Harris administration’s approach to Iran and its implications for American interests.
