The Iranian Directorate or Directorate for Iran is an intelligence unit of The Pentagon founded in 2006 involved with general information on Iran as regards to diplomatic and military tensions between the United States and Iran.[1] Opponents to the unit have criticised its for its similarities to the Office of Special Plans (OSP), which dealt with controversial intelligence reports in relation to Iraq, having been housed in an area that previously served the OSP, likewise with amongst those staffed three veteran officials of the OSP that share similar interests, according to a private investigator.[2]
Lt. Col. Barry E. Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the formation of the directorate for Iran in both a phone discussion and an email message; "As the State Department stated in early March (Daily Press Brief, Mar. 3), the U.S. Government is organizing itself better to address what Secretary Rice called 'one of the great challenges for the United States, a strategic challenge for the United States and for those who desire peace and freedom,' Venable wrote. 'As a counterpart to the State Department's new Office of Iran Affairs, the Department of Defense has split off a new directorate for Iran-related policy issues from the existing Directorate of Northern Gulf Affairs in the Office of Near East and South Asia Affairs (NESA), he additionally stated. These regional policy offices fall within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs,' and thereafter under Eric Edelman. Edelman, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.