John Limbert will be the senior Iran official at the State Department, replacing Dennis Ross who has moved to the National Security Council (and who has not been heard of publicly since). Should America be concerned? Yes. Limbert is not a neutral arbiter; he serves on the advisory board of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), widely considered to be the de facto lobby for the Iranian regime in America.

What is the National Iranian American Council?

The Council serves as the blocking back for the Iranian regime in America, opposes sanctions on Iran, soft-peddles any controversial events in Iran, and counsels "patience" regarding Iran's stance towards its nuclear program; the NIAC has been at the forefront of lobbying against continued Congressional funding of the Voice of America Persia service; Radio Farad; and grants for Iranian civil society; the NIAC adamantly opposes any military attacks on Iran; and to top it off, the NIAC has reportedly received funding from anti-Israel advocate George Soros who, at the very least, was an honored guest and speaker at one its symposiums (he called for a more equitable Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and called for America to renounce regime change as a goal).

The NIAC adamantly opposes any military attacks on Iran. In other words, it all but serves as Iran's Embassy in Washington-though the NIAC vociferously dispute this characterization. However, there is very little sunlight between the views of the regime and the NIAC.

The NIAC is also headed by the controversial Trita Parsi. Who is Trita Parsi?...

...One curious fact is that board members of the NIAC contribute to J Street, the anti-Israel lobby that tries to pass itself off as a "pro-peace" lobby that supports Israel (just as the NIAC tries to palm itself off as being pro-American and pro-peace). Not so co-incidentally, Trita Parsi himself was on a panel at the recent J Street conference. ..