Where was this in his confirmation hearing? Kerry's son-in-law is Iranian

A little over a month ago, I reported on some of US Secretary of State John FN Kerry's Iranian friends (pictured above). It turns out that Kerry has another Iranian friend, who was not mentioned in Kerry's confirmation hearing: His son-in-law (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).

In a greeting to the Iranian people on the occasion of the traditional New Year (Nowruz) holiday last week, Secretary of State John Kerry exposed a secret that journalists and academics have been agonizing over for the past six weeks: the fact that his daughter has married an Iranian-American who has extensive family ties to Iran.

“I am proud of the Iranian-Americans in my own family, and grateful for how they have enriched my life,” Kerry said in the official statement. Kerry also said he was “strongly committed to resolving” the differences between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, “to the mutual benefit of both of our people.”

Politicians like to keep their families off-limits to the press, a decorum enforced vigorously when it comes to politicians who are in favor with the national media but ruthlessly discarded for others. But in Kerry’s case, there could be larger ramifications.

Since its inception, the FBI has vetted U.S. government officials involved in national security issues, and it generally won’t grant clearances to individuals who are married to nationals of an enemy nation or have family members living in that country, for fear of divided loyalties or, more simply, blackmail.

Behrouz (Brian) Nahed and Vanessa Kerry Nahed are both resident physicians at Mass General in Boston. An Iranian government website first published pictures of the married couple in February, just as Kerry was up for confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Dr. Nahed’s parents live in Los Angeles, but he has relatives still in Iran. The Iranian website reported that shortly after their marriage, the young couple visited those relatives in Iran.

Ironically, Kerry was denied a visa to enter Iran when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Maybe then they weren't sure which side he was on. 

 

But how does this sort of thing not come out in the confirmation hearings, particularly when it's published in the Iranian media? Where is the FBI? Does the CIA lack Persian translators?

What could go wrong?