Tom Cotton just took the Iran debate to an insane new lowTom Cotton just took the Iran debate to an insane new low
Washington, DC,
July 23, 2015
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National Security
During a meeting Thursday of the House’s Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, U.S. Rep French Hill, R-Little Rock, said he believed Kerry had been “dismissive” of questions about those agreements...
After Sen. Cotton and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) said that IAEA officials told them that the group had reached two “side-deals” on how to evaluate Iran’s military site at Parchin, where Iran has been accused of testing nuclear detonators, the State Department confirmed that Iran worked with the UN nuclear commission to arrange inspections. So John Kerry acted like Pontius Pilate. Cotton specifically targeted Secretary of State John Kerry, comparing him to the Roman judge said to have condemned Jesus Christ to crucifixion. The contents of those alleged “side deals” are not public, though White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told reporters on Wednesday that the administration would share the details with members of Congress during a classified briefing. Cotton said Thursday he’s not satisfied with the Obama administration’s admission, because more information is needed about the side deals themselves. “Again, their Parchin military site is where they’ve tested detonators for nuclear weapons”. During a meeting Thursday of the House’s Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, U.S. Rep French Hill, R-Little Rock, said he believed Kerry had been “dismissive” of questions about those agreements. The Parchin complex is crucial to determining the extent of Iran’s nuclear program; it has been closed off to IAEA inspectors for a decade because it is considered a military facility. Meanwhile, under federal law, the administration can’t waive sanctions against Iran until all agreements are submitted, including agreements reached between Iran and the IAEA, and Congress reviews them. “Without that information, I don’t see how we can trust the government of Iran”, said Cotton. “So there is nothing that we are holding in our possession that we had either any role in crafting or were given to us that has not been given to Congress”. “Both arrangements will not be vetted by any organization other than Iran and the IAEA, and will not be released even to the nations that negotiated” the Iran deal. Kerry said he did not have all the details but expected to be briefed on them. They said that they were told the deals will remain secret and will not be shared, and called that a violation of the Obama administration’s commitment to provide the full text of the Iran deal to Congress for consideration under the Iran Nuclear Review Agreement Act, reports Fox. |