State Department probe faults Iran envoy on employee removal

The State Department's watchdog on Thursday faulted the US pointman on Iran over the removal of an employee of Iranian origin, voicing alarm that Trump administration officials discussed her ancestry.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to consider disciplinary action against the envoy, Brian Hook, although strong measures appeared unlikely as management also disputed the report's conclusions.

Under pressure from lawmakers, the State Department's inspector general probed the early removal of Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a career employee and US citizen, from the Office of Policy Planning, the internal think tank that sets priorities for US diplomacy.

A long-awaited report by the internal watchdog said that the White House, two months after President Donald Trump took office in 2017, forwarded an article in conservative US media that was critical of Nowrouzzadeh's continued position and highlighted her ancestry.

Julia Haller, a short-term liaison from the White House in charge of political appointments, in an email cited by the report said Nowrouzzadeh "was born in Iran and upon my understanding cried when the President won."
One of Pompeo's top aides, Ulrich Brechbuhl, wrote that the State Department "disagrees" with the report's conclusion but said that management is "committed to ensuring the highest levels of professional behavior."
Haller, a lawyer who now works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in an office reaching out to religious groups, acknowledged to the inspector general that the detail of Nowrouzzadeh crying over Trump's victory may have been "office gossip."