Iran Press/ America: A State Department watchdog faulted President Donald Trump's top diplomat on Iran for sidelining a career employee after her loyalty was questioned by officials who cited her Iranian-American heritage and her work under the previous administration.
The report describes Mr. Hook’s ethnic discrimination and political targeting of a longtime State Department employee, Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, who has worked for the US government for 15 years under Republican and Democratic Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. According to the report, Hook and his team removed Iran expert from a senior policy-planning role on the Iran portfolio in 2017 not because of the quality of her work but rather because of perceptions that she hated Trump, had a preference for Democrats and was loyal to Iran, not the US.
There were other suspicious cases but the case involving Hook’s actions toward Nowrouzzadeh is by far the most consequential of the bunch, as Hook is the senior official in charge of leading Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran.
Ms. Nowrouzzadeh, who has taken an unpaid leave from the department following these incidents, reacted to the report saying she hopes this will “guard against any further such misconduct” by members of this or any administration.
The report recommends that Hook and other political appointees receive training on “prohibited personnel practices and related Department policies,” but it leaves the determination of whether Hook should receive any additional disciplinary action up to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
It is already difficult for women and ethnic minorities to rise through the ranks of foreign policy in an industry that has been long dominated by white men. And experts warn that such incidents would have a chilling effect on diversity and inclusion in politics.205/ 212
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