A former top Clinton administration official, who advocated fiercely on behalf of the Iran nuclear deal, stands to benefit from a $25 billion agreement between Boeing and Iran Air, according to a report.
Thomas Pickering was an ambassador to Israel and the United Nations, but he has also been on Boeing’s payroll since 2001, the Daily Beast reported.
Pickering was on staff at Boeing from 2001 to 2006 and is still an active consultant for the firm. He confirmed this to the Daily Beast by using his Boeing corporate email address.
Boeing stood to benefit greatly from the Iran nuclear deal reached last summer because it lifted some of the country’s sanctions and reopened opportunities for business dealings with Americans and others. The company was also aware that Tehran sought to upgrade its out-of-date plane supply.
Pickering is being criticized because he did not make his connection with Boeing known when he was lobbying for the nuclear deal.
When he testified before the House Armed Services Committee on June 19, 2014, advocating for the deal, he did not include any mention of Boeing in his disclosure form.
In a July 7, 2015, letter to congressional leadership, which urged members to support the deal, Pickering also did not mention his ongoing work with Boeing.
This letter was cited in the Huffington Post, Politico, the Associated Press, and in a White House publication titled “The Iran Nuclear Deal: What You Need to Know About the JCPOA.” Again, there was no mention of Boeing.
“In Pickering’s case, he has a direct connection to Boeing, which I think should be disclosed,” said Neil Gordon, investigator for Project on Government Oversight. “I think it’s necessary for the public debate. It’s necessary for the public to fully realize the participants’ financial interests. Some of them might have a direct financial stake in a particular outcome.”
The $25 billion sale is significant, said Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, because, if the deal is successful, more American companies will do business in Iran. If the deal becomes too political and fails, it may deter companies from taking their business to Iran, which would effectively render the country’s sanction relief as useless.
“If the Iranians end up de facto not getting sanctions relief, the deal will collapse,” Parsi said. “That’s right now the biggest threat to the sustainability of the deal.”
