U.S. Has Spies On the Ground in Iran: Former National Security Advisor

As violence continues on the streets of Tehran, RebelReports has learned that former U.S. National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft has confirmed that the U.S. government has spies on the ground in Iran. Scowcroft made the assertion in an interview to be broadcast on the Al Jazeera program “Fault Lines.” When asked by journalist Josh Rushing if the U.S. has "intelligence operatives on the ground in Iran," Scowcroft replied, "Of course we do."

While it is hardly surprising that the U.S. has its operatives in Iran, it is unusual to see a figure in a position to know state this on the record. New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh and Former Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter both have claimed for years that the U.S. has regularly engaged in covert operations inside of Iran aimed at destabilizing the government. In July 2008, Hersh reported, "the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded."

In the Al Jazeera interview, Scowcroft defended President Obama's position on Iran, which has been roundly criticized by Republicans as weak and ineffective with some characterizing Obama as a “de facto ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”