Iranian Media ‘Scoop’ on Rob Malley Draws US Republican Ire

Robert Malley speaks before the Senate in the Capitol in Washington in May 2022. (AFP)
Robert Malley speaks before the Senate in the Capitol in Washington in May 2022. (AFP)
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Iranian Media ‘Scoop’ on Rob Malley Draws US Republican Ire

Robert Malley speaks before the Senate in the Capitol in Washington in May 2022. (AFP)
Robert Malley speaks before the Senate in the Capitol in Washington in May 2022. (AFP)

US Republican lawmakers are calling on the State Department to investigate how the Tehran Times newspaper, close to Ali Khamenei's office, obtained a purported memo informing US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley that his security clearance was suspended.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul said Monday in a statement that Foggy Bottom “needs to do a top-to-bottom security review because I am concerned they have a leak.”

McCaul also voiced concerns that the Tehran Times has again obtained information that has eluded lawmakers who have demanded to know more about an ongoing investigation into Malley, which involves questions about whether he should be allowed to handle classified information.

Last month, McCaul threatened to subpoena the State Department for details of the case.

“If this memo is authentic, it is extremely concerning, especially since this is not the first time the Iranian regime’s mouthpiece has appeared to have sensitive US government information recently while Congress is kept in the dark,” McCaul said.

The media outlet reported Sunday — based on what it claimed was an April 21 memo from a top State Department diplomatic security official to Malley — that Malley’s top secret clearance was suspended over “serious security concerns” related to his “personal conduct,” “handling of protected information” and “use of information technology.”

A person familiar with the investigation into Malley who has seen the original memo told POLITICO that the Tehran Times’ version appeared to match that original.

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration both for temporarily allowing Malley to continue to work in the department after his security clearance was suspended over the investigation and for keeping them in the dark about the probe for several weeks. The FBI is involved in the probe, according to a person familiar with the case.

“I have requested transparency from the State Department on the ongoing Robert Malley saga and will continue to demand answers,” McCaul said.

“Regarding this latest chapter, I am very concerned about how the regime got this potentially authentic document and what other sensitive or classified information they may have.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday called on the State Department Inspector General to probe how the Tehran Times obtained a memorandum that informed Malley of his security clearance.

“It is shocking and, to my knowledge, unprecedented that a propaganda arm of Iran’s terrorist regime got its hands on what appears to be a ‘Sensitive But Unclassified’ April 2023 memo related to the suspension of Special Envoy Rob Malley’s security clearance,” Hagerty said in a statement.

The inspector general’s office should probe “whether any State Department officials have violated any laws or regulations in what appears to be an unauthorized disclosure of this [sensitive] communication related to Malley and national security.”

Hagerty, who also shared his criticism on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, questioned whether the memo was genuine. He was reposting a message from a former State Department adviser on Iran during the Trump administration, Gabriel Noronha, who said it “looks authentic to me.”



Report: US as Many as 15 Years Behind China on Nuclear Power

Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Report: US as Many as 15 Years Behind China on Nuclear Power

Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Visitors to a mall cool off near a mist machine during the summer heat in Beijing, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The US is as many as 15 years behind China on developing high-tech nuclear power as Beijing's state-backed technology approach and extensive financing give it the edge, a report said on Monday.
China has 27 nuclear reactors under construction with average construction timelines of about seven years, far faster than other countries, said the study by Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute.
"China’s rapid deployment of ever-more modern nuclear power plants over time produces significant scale economies and learning-by-doing effects, and this suggests that Chinese enterprises will gain an advantage at incremental innovation in this sector going forward," the report said.
The US has the world's largest fleet of nuclear power plants and President Joe Biden's administration considers the virtually emissions-free electricity source to be critical in curbing climate change.
But after two large plants in Georgia came online in 2023 and 2024 billions of dollars over budget and delayed by years, no US nuclear reactors are being built. A high-tech plant that had been planned to be built at a US lab was canceled last year, Reuters reported.
China's state-owned banks can offer loans as low as 1.4%, far lower than available in Western economies. Its nuclear power industry has benefited from sustained state support and localization strategies that has allowed China to dominate sectors like renewable power and EVs.
The world's first so-called fourth-generation high-temperature gas cooled reactor at Shidao Bay came online last December. The China Nuclear Energy Association claims that the project involved the development of more than 2,200 sets of "world-first equipment" with a total localization rate of domestically produced materials of 93.4%.
Backers of high-tech reactors say they are safer and more efficient than current plants. Critics say some new reactors introduce proliferation and material risks.
It has not all been smooth sailing for China. The China Nuclear Energy Association has warned that there was a severe glut in nuclear component production, and "excessive competition" was driving down prices and causing losses.
Stephen Ezell, the report's author, said if the US is serious about nuclear it should develop a robust national strategy involving more investment in research and development, identifying and accelerating promising technologies, and supporting development of a skilled workforce.
"While America is behind, it can certainly catch up technologically," said Ezell.