The State Department has fired a press officer who was responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy toward Israel and Gaza after complaints from the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Officials said Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor working for the Bureau of Near East Affairs, was terminated over the weekend following two incidents last week in which his loyalty to Trump administration policies was called into question.
Ghoreishi, who is Iranian American, was also targeted on Wednesday following his dismissal by notorious right-wing personality Laura Loomer, who accused him of not being fully supportive of the administration's policies in the Middle East.
According to Ghoreishi and two current US officials, Ghoreishi drew the ire of a senior official at the US Embassy in Jerusalem and then top aides to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for drafting a response to a query from The Associated Press last week. The question related to discussions between Israel and South Sudan about the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan.
The draft response included a line that said the US does not support the forced relocation of Gaza Palestinians, something that President Donald Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have said repeatedly.
However, according to Ghoreishi and the officials, that line was rejected by the US Embassy in Jerusalem, leading to questions about policy back in Washington. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel changes.
Ghoreishi also said he questioned a statement from the embassy that referred to the occupied West Bank as "Judea and Samaria," the Biblical name for the Palestinian territory that some right-wing Israeli officials prefer. Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, also has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by Judea and Samaria.
Sudden target
The ouster shows the lengths that the Trump administration has gone to ensure what it sees as loyalty to the president and his goals, including a foreign policy approach that has offered overwhelming support for Israel in the genocide in Gaza.
"Despite a close working relationship with many of my dedicated and hardworking colleagues, I was targeted following two events last week when I attracted the ire of the 7th floor and senior officials in Embassy Jerusalem: stating we are against forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as President Trump and special envoy Witkoff have both previously claimed and cutting a reference to Judea and Samaria," Ghoreishi said, referring to the floor where top leaders have offices at the State Department.
"Both of these had been consistently approved at the senior level in the past, so it begs the question why I was suddenly targeted without a direct explanation and whether our Israel-Palestine policy is about to get even worse — including an unwillingness to take any stand against ethnic cleansing. The future looks bleak," he said.
The firing was first reported by The Washington Post.
Loomer in control
Loomer claimed on Wednesday that she had a hand in Ghoreishi's removal from the State Department. She said he was affiliated with pro-Iran groups, which Ghoreishi denies.
"I can exclusively confirm that the US State Department has FIRED Shahed Ghoreishi, a Jihadi and rabidly anti-Trump staffer employed at the US State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) where he has been operating as a pro-Iranian regime operative," Loomer said on X.
This is not the first time the State Department seemingly took orders from Loomer.
Just days ago, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review, soon after Loomer had posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas.
She claimed without evidence that the Palestinian children seeking treatment in the US are refugees. Charity group HEAL Palestine denied that it has any refugee programmes.
The administration this week also revoked security clearances for 37 current and former national security officials, including many who had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump that was recently highlighted by Loomer.
