US Strategic Command welcomes ex-Iranian official boasting about attempts to kill US leaders.

Hussein Mousavian headlined STRATCOM’s Deterrence ⁢Symposium

U.S. ⁣military leaders earlier this ⁢month ⁣hosted a former ⁤top Iranian official who ‍came under fire last year for bragging about⁢ the hardline⁣ regime’s efforts ⁣to assassinate American leaders.

U.S. Strategic⁢ Command (STRATCOM)‌ tapped Hussein ⁤Mousavian, ‌a ​former member of Iran’s nuclear‍ negotiating team who works as a Middle East security and nuclear policy ‌specialist at Princeton ​University, to headline ⁣its 2023 Deterrence Symposium, a high-level powwow that brought the former Iranian official shoulder-to-shoulder with America’s top military brass.

Mousavian’s appearance at the mid-August gathering, which came ​to light on ⁢Monday after STRATCOM posted⁣ a video of the event, drew criticism⁢ from former U.S. officials and veteran Iran analysts ​who questioned why America’s ⁣premier military outfit would host someone ⁢who maintains close ties to the⁤ Islamic Republic.

“Mousavian helped lead the murderous Iranian​ regime’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons so it ⁤could threaten ‌the United States and our allies with annihilation,” ‌ said Rep.⁣ Jim Banks, a member ⁣of the House Armed Services Committee. “Now he’s in ‍semi-retirement at ‌Princeton ‌as a⁤ full-time propagandist ⁢for the IRGC. Inviting him‍ to spread lies at a U.S. military seminar ⁢is insanity.”

“The decision to invite former Iranian ⁢ambassador Mousavian to speak to ‍STRATCOM is unimaginably ⁢foolish,” ​Gabriel Noronha,‌ a former ‍Iran adviser at the State Department, told⁤ the Washington Free Beacon. “He is‌ a pawn ​and propaganda ​agent of the Iranian regime, ⁤which explains why‌ he ⁢is ‍allowed to ​travel back to Iran.”

Mousavian, Noronha ⁤said, remains close with the ⁤Iranian regime, with former foreign minister Javad⁤ Zarif ‍ stating in ​2016‍ that the former‌ ambassador “continues to work hard” for Tehran’s​ interests while working at ‍Princeton.

“Congress should investigate the decision-making ​process that led ⁤to this⁢ entirely inappropriate speaking invitation,” ‌Noronha said.

Mousavian’s perch at ‌Princeton has long ⁣irked Iranian dissidents due to his alleged role in human rights ⁢crimes during his ⁢time‍ as Iran’s ambassador.

Mousavian last year‍ appeared to gloat ​about Iran’s death threats against ⁢former Trump administration ⁣officials, including Secretary of ‍State Mike Pompeo and his deputy, Brian Hook.

“I went to America and an American told me that Brian Hook’s wife can’t​ sleep, she cries and ⁣trembles, she⁤ told Brian, ‘They’ll kill​ you,’ since Hook⁤ was a partner ‍in the death of Haj Qassem [Soleimani], that’s how much they were ‌trembling,” Mousavian was quoted as saying ‌in ⁣a documentary film‍ produced by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Advocacy groups like‍ United Against a Nuclear Iran blasted Mousavian for sounding “gleeful” about the threats Iran poses to former American officials.

STRATCOM did not immediately respond to a Free Beacon request for comment.

Alireza Nader, a veteran Iran scholar based in Washington,⁢ D.C., said⁤ it is “outrageous and​ dangerous that​ U.S.⁢ STRATCOM​ invited a former regime official ‌connected to the ⁤assassination​ of Iranian dissidents to ⁣be⁣ a speaker at ⁢its symposium, providing him access ‌to​ America’s ⁢most senior military officials.”

Princeton‍ also ⁣recently drew ‍ scrutiny for hiring U.S. Iran envoy‌ Robert‌ Malley,​ who is currently⁣ the ⁣subject of an‍ FBI investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified information. Malley has‌ been suspended from his State Department duties‍ as the probe⁤ continues.