The House Oversight Committee says it has opened an investigation into ties between an alleged influence operation launched by the Islamic Republic of Iran and some in the Biden administration, including a chief aide who has since been suspended from his position and is under investigation for mishandling of classified information. 

The Oversight Committee will investigate the administration’s alleged “use of officials with sympathetic ties to the Iranian regime to negotiate with Iran.”

The chairman, Congressman James Comer, said in a statement Wednesday that his committee “is investigating the Biden Administration’s efforts to conceal details about its ongoing secret nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran from Congress, ignoring statutory obligations for congressional oversight.”

The investigation’s broader focus is the administration’s “failed Iran policy,” which is likely to include a probe into the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds by the White House last month as part of a prisoner exchange deal. 

The committee cites reporting by Semafor and a London-based Persian-language television news channel, Iran International, that disclosed new information about the regime’s attempts to launder its credibility and “bolster Iran’s image on global security matters,” allegedly by coordinating with American government officials. 

Semafor and Iran International reported that, beginning in 2014, the Iranian regime began to foster “a network of influential overseas academics and researchers,” known as the Iran Experts Initiative. The IEI, the creation of which was facilitated by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, established a web of analysts and writers in the West who would ghostwrite articles for Iranian officials, advocate for moderation in American policy towardsthe Islamic Republic, and help foster ties between governments. 

One of the most prominent American officials who was involved with the IEI and officials from the Iran Foreign Ministry was the White House’s chief liaison to Iran, Robert Malley, who was suspended from his position in June and had his security clearance revoked following allegations that he had mishandled classified information. Mr. Malley is still under investigation. 

Mr. Comer says the ties are worthy of a congressional investigation. “A former member of Mr. Malley’s Iran negotiating team, Ariane Tabatabai, was in close contact with the Iranian regime for years,” Mr. Comer said in his statement. 

“Ms. Tabatabai participated in the regime-backed Iran Experts Initiative, which was launched by senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials in the spring of 2014,” Mr. Comer said. “The alleged purpose of the initiative was to cultivate a network of European and U.S. researchers that could be used to bolster Iran’s image.”

Multiple GOP senators have also sent letters to the state and defense departments to ask about the allegations levied against Mr. Malley and Ms. Tabatabai. Neither of the departments responded to requests for comment from the Sun. 

The Oversight Committee sent a letter to Secretary Blinken on Wednesday morning requesting information from his department about these allegations and ties between American and Iranian officials.

Senator Blackburn also sent a letter to Secretary Austin requesting information about Ms. Tabatabai. “I’m demanding answers from @SecDef Lloyd Austin about Ariane Tabatabai, an anti-Israel senior official at the Pentagon who is connected to the Iranian Foreign Ministry,” the Tennessee senator wrote on X.