The Case of Mozzafar Khazaee Becomes Even More Curious and Troubling

By Dan Cadman on October 29, 2015

In January of last year, I wrote about the "curious and troubling case" of Mozzafar Khazaee, a native of Iran, a naturalized American, and a defense contractor with access to classified materials who got caught passing some of those materials on to organs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

That blog was one of many I've written that question the gaping holes in our immigration vetting systems — holes largely unexamined by the media, the public, and, most depressingly, our own government, perhaps because to acknowledge them would require a serious look in the dark places where this administration doesn't want to go. (See, for instance, here, here, here, and here.)

Last week, an unrepentant Khazaee — described in news reports as a "dual citizen," something I remarked upon in my earlier blog — was sentenced to eight years in prison, despite his mother's plea for leniency because she depends upon him here in the United States for support. (How sadly ironic that is on so many levels.)

And what has happened since sentencing? The Islamic Republic of Iran, the nation he supposedly renounced when he took his oath of naturalization — the nation that is unambiguously not providing succor to his mother — publicly blasted the United States: "Arrest and imprisonment of ... Iranian nationals by the U.S. government on baseless and unfounded reasons is unacceptable." (Emphasis added.)

So which is Khazaee: an Iranian or a U.S. national? One suspects the Iranians have it right, not on the "baseless and unfounded" part, but almost certainly about where both his heart and his head lie. Taking the oath of naturalization was no more than a sham designed to get the job and clearances he needed to send home classified information to aid the mullahs in propping up their extremist military organization.

But not to worry, he got caught. No need to concern ourselves with who else might be out there, undetected, wreaking havoc on our national security after having been given the privilege of living and working here. Just another example of "risk management" at work at the Department of Homeland Security and its subordinate agencies, including U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the one that passes out immigration benefits like Halloween candy.