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The Franklin, Rosen, and Weissman Case: Iran Secrets, AIPAC, and Israel

Twenty years before the war on Iran, the FBI caught a Pentagon analyst passing classified American deliberations about Iran to officials of AIPAC, who passed them on to Israel. The case matters to this investigation because it shows, in a court record rather than a rumor, the three pieces of the machinery this section describes working together: a pro-Israel official inside the Pentagon's policy office, the lobby, and the Israeli government, all focused on America's Iran policy.

Who was involved​

  • Lawrence Franklin was a Pentagon analyst working on Iran in the years when the Pentagon's policy office, then led by Douglas Feith, was pressing for regime change in the region. Feith is the official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson says was "surrounded everyday in his office by Mossad operatives" (see Wilkerson).
  • Steven J. Rosen was AIPAC's director of foreign policy issues.
  • Keith Weissman was AIPAC's senior Iran analyst.

What happened​

According to a summary of the case: "Franklin pleaded guilty to providing information about a classified presidential directive and other sensitive information pertaining to U.S. deliberations on foreign policy regarding Iran to AIPAC, who in turn provided the information to Israel" (as summarized by Dalton Clodfelter in an April 2026 Substack, "The Fog of the Middle East," quoted in the research capture). A July 2026 essay put it this way: "Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin admitted to passing classified U.S. secrets to AIPAC officials" Steve J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, "who then relayed them to Israeli intelligence." "The information included details on U.S. policy toward Iran." The charges against the two AIPAC officials "were dropped on technicalities" (Pierre Lherisson on X, July 4, 2026).

On February 26, 2026, two days before the second war began, journalist Branko Marcetic recalled the case:

"All the way back in 2004, a Bush appointee got in hot water with the FBI for giving classified info to AIPAC and Israeli officials about a push for regime change in Iran. That's how long Israel, its US lobby and its America Last neocon allies have been trying to start this war."

(Marcetic on X, February 26, 2026).

Why it matters now​

Look at what the information was: American deliberations about Iran, including a classified presidential directive, at a time (2004) when officials in the Pentagon's policy office were pushing for regime change in Iran after Iraq. The information went from inside the Pentagon to the pro-Israel lobby to the Israeli government. That is the same triangle this investigation documents in 2025 and 2026:

  • Inside the Pentagon: Israeli officers "side-by-side" with Americans at Central Command, and a 2026 DIA finding that Israel was eavesdropping on the Americans negotiating with Iran (see the critical threat rating).
  • The lobby: AIPAC's CEO describing the Secretary of State, National Security Adviser, and CIA Director as "lifelines" (see the lifelines).
  • The Israeli government: Joe Kent describing Israeli officials going "point to point" to cabinet members with "intelligence we haven't put through the regular channel" (see Israeli intelligence fed to the President).

The Franklin case is the proof that this triangle is not a theory. It operated, on Iran, two decades ago, and a court record shows it.

The pattern of spying​

The Franklin case sits in a longer record of Israeli intelligence operations against the United States, from Jonathan Pollard in 1985 to the 2026 "critical" rating. See the record of Israeli spying.

Status: Lawrence Franklin — Alive. Steven J. Rosen — Alive. Keith Weissman — Alive. Douglas Feith — Alive. Branko Marcetic — Alive. The only criminal finding described here is Franklin's own guilty plea; the charges against Rosen and Weissman were dropped, and they were not convicted of any crime.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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