The Obama administration did not brief top lawmakers about key details of an $8.6 million purchase of nuclear material from Iran for months after announcing the sale in April, according to interviews with multiple members of Congress.
The Energy Department announced in April that it would purchase 32 tons of Iranian heavy water, a central component in the development of atomic weapons. In the months that followed, the administration delayed answering congressional inquiries on the sale’s details, including an April letter sent by Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo. Energy Department officials further declined to answer media inquiries throughout
A State Department official confirmed to THE WEEKLY STANDARD Monday that the purchase “is now complete.”
“The DOE Isotope Program signed a contract to purchase the heavy water in April and has been working with Iran on the logistical details of importing the heavy water since then,” an Energy Department official told TWS Tuesday.
Officials did not disclose how the deal’s finances would be achieved, fueling concerns that taxpayer dollars would be used to purchase the nuclear material and that Iran would gain access to the U.S. dollar. The Obama administration promised not to grant Iran access to the U.S. dollar but has acted in ways contray to this promise.
Democratic senators told TWS Tuesday that they have not been briefed in months on how the U.S. would pay for the heavy water.
“For about the last 60 days, I haven’t gotten any new information on that,” Virginia senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told TWS.
“[We] haven’t had anything recently, but we had some briefings on it when it first surfaced a couple of months ago,” said Maryland senator Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who voted against the Iran deal last summer.
“Have I been sufficiently briefed? I’m going to seek additional briefings,” Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal said.
Republicans denied receiving details and did not mention being briefed in April.
“I have not been briefed,” Arizona senator John McCain said. “I’m asking for that information.”
“I’m concerned about everything associated with this deal,” McCain said. “But this administration is so committed to [the nuclear deal’s] ‘success’ that they’re not going to do anything.”
“They have not [told me how the purchase will be paid for],” said Tennessee senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“The administration has been less than forthcoming,” Florida senator Marco Rubio said. “They don’t want people to know how bad the deal is, and how much aid it’s given to Iran.”
State and Energy Department officials did not specify whether the purchase would use U.S. dollars, directly or indirectly, in their June response to Pompeo’s letter. The Kansas congressman introduced legislation in April that would prohibit federal funds from being used for the purchase of heavy water from Iran in the future. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday.
“Congress has had to constantly badger the Obama administration for answers on Iran, only to be met with silence or vague denials. For a president that promises his is ‘the most transparent administration in history,’ the irony is great—were it not so frightening. Because the Administration has not stood up to Iran, Congress must,” Pompeo told TWS. “Fortunately there has been bipartisan support for just that. Even some who supported the nuclear deal understand, for instance, that the U.S. purchase of heavy water from Iran is not required by the deal, nor is it in our country’s interest.”
An Energy Department official told TWS Tuesday that the purchase “is being made in Euros at prevailing exchange rates.”
“Transactions like this one are regular business for the program,” the official said. “Over the past decade, there have often been constrained supplies of heavy water, and this heavy water will help to fulfill a substantial portion of U.S. domestic market demand this year.”
Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said in April that the sale could inspire confidence in other countries to buy from Iran.
“That will be a statement to the world: ‘You want to buy heavy water from Iran, you can buy heavy water from Iran. It’s been done. Even the United States did it,'” Moniz told The Wall Street Journal.
The Obama administration has been encouraging foreign busin
