Graham Threatens to Withhold IAEA Funding Over “Secret” Iran Inspection Deal

IAEA, Iran Have Secret Side Agreement to Allow Iran to Inspect Itself

The Associated Press reported Wednesday a previously undisclosed side deal between Iran and the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency would allow Tehran to use its own inspectors to investigate a site it has been accused of using to develop nuclear arms. The report, which was based on a document obtained by the AP, renewed efforts by top Republican lawmakers who have been to the agreement signed by the Obama administration, Iran and five world powers in July.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a 2016 presidential candidate and foreign policy hawk, released a statement putting the Obama Administration on notice by threatening to cut off United States contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unless the “side agreements” made with Iran over its nuclear program are released to the Congress. In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Graham, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, which oversees contributions to the IAEA, said the response with dictate pending legislative action in Congress.

“Given anticipated legislative action on this controversial deal in the Senate next month, firsthand information on IAEA side agreements are vital to both the debate and decision making process for all Members – irrespective of their views of Iran or the merits of the deal,” Graham said. “As an indication of how serious I view the provision of copies of these side agreements to our national security, I intend to condition and/or withhold voluntary contributions to the IAEA in fiscal year 2016 should they not be provided prior to the congressional debate next month.”

In the face of severe criticism, Obama administration officials have repeatedly claimed the Iran nuclear agreement was not based in trust but verification. The White House argues they have confidence in the ability to conduct “rigorous inspections,” despite the fact no Americans are allowed to participate in those inspections, according to the deal. According to recent polls, Americans overwhelmingly agree with the GOP and notable Democrats who have announced they will not support the deal. Average opposition–which PPD calculates using a variety of pollsters’ questions–was largely unchanged over the past few weeks since we first aggregated the data on August 3. On average, 58 percent of Americans oppose the deal, while just 29 percent support it.

“President Obama boasts his deal includes `unprecedented verification.’ He claims it’s not built on trust,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “But the administration’s briefings on these side deals have been totally insufficient – and it still isn’t clear whether anyone at the White House has seen the final documents.”

The newly disclosed side agreement, which specifically details inspections of the Parchin nuclear site, was hatced out between the IAEA and Iran. The United States and the five other world powers were not party to it, but have endorsed it after they were allegedly briefed by the agency.

White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the Obama administration was “confident in the agency’s technical plans for investigating the possible military dimensions of Iran’s former program. … The IAEA has separately developed the most robust inspection regime ever peacefully negotiated.”

Again, the reason for public opposition to the deal has been equally consistent and two-fold. First, no one believes Iran will keep their end of the deal and, second, that it will make the world and/or region a safer place. A whopping three-quarters (75 percent) of voters say Iran cannot be trusted to honor the agreement (75 percent), which includes almost all Republicans (93 percent), most independents (80 percent) and even a majority of Democrats (59 percent).

“Allowing Iran to conduct their own inspections, particularly at nuclear facilities, is like allowing the inmates to run the prison,” Graham said. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a staunch opponent of the Iran deal, echoed Graham’s sentiment at a Republican senate meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday. Cotton said the secret side agreement is like allowing NFL players to give themselves their own drug test while trying to prevent steroid use.