The U.S. Department of Defense has promoted an official rumored to have leaked details about an Israeli plan to strike Iran, Politico reported Saturday.
Ariane Tabatabai, who was named in the media as the source of the Oct. 18 leak but whom defense officials said was not a suspect in the investigation, is now the deputy assistant secretary of defense for force education and training within the Office of the Secretary of Defense under U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Politico reported.
She was offered the position last month when she was still chief of staff for assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, the report said.
Sky News Arabic quoted a Pentagon source on Oct. 22 naming Tabatabai, who is of Iranian descent, as the source of the leak. Last year, she was the subject of an exposé by the news site Semafor that identified her as a member of the Iran Experts Initiative, which reportedly is a group of individuals working with or for the Iranian government.
According to Semafor, Tabatabai’s role included reporting back to Iran’s foreign ministry and communicating with senior Iranian officials.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Oct. 22 that an investigation was ongoing into the leak.
The leaked documents of the U.S. Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency did not contain details or an overall picture of the targets of the attack, but rather general preparations for a long-range attack by the Israeli Air Force.
Israeli defense officials said the leak delayed the strike, which was carried out overnight on Friday.
