The Obama administration left top lawmakers, including leaders on the congressional committees charged with overseeing American foreign policy, in the dark about a secret deal to send Iran more than one hundred metric tons of natural uranium, according to statements provided to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
The United States and world powers have agreed to send Iran 116 metric tons of natural uranium from Russia in exchange for Iran exporting heavy water, another nuclear-related substance that it has stockpiled in violation of the landmark nuclear agreement. The uranium shipment, which experts said could be enough for over 10 nuclear bombs, only came to light after it was publicly reported earlier this week. Previous reports had revealed other details of heavy water exchanges, including a U.S. payment of roughly $10 million.
Top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle told TWS the administration had not briefed them on the decision to send uranium to Iran.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee was not briefed on the matter, according to a GOP aide who spoke to TWS.
Maryland senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told TWS, “I don’t believe I know about that.”
Arizona senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said he was not familiar with the agreement.
New Jersey senator Bob Menendez said the uranium shipment fits into a broader tendency from the administration to hide details from Congress on the nuclear deal.
“[There is a] continuing line of elements of the Iran deal that, in fact, have not been fully known by members of Congress,” Menendez said.
The swap has been criticized both because it provides Iran with material that can be enriched for nuclear weapons and, more broadly, because the uranium is being sent in exchange for material that Iran has produced in violation of the nuclear deal.
Menendez criticized the administration for helping Iran appear to remain in compliance with the deal.
“If you ultimately take care of the other side’s obligations, that one hell of a deal,” he said.
Administration officials would not confirm the uranium agreement Monday, but said that Iran is allowed to import natural uranium under the nuclear deal and that “a strong inspection regime” is in place.
Nuclear experts condemned the agreement and the secrecy surrounding it.
“Allowing Iran to receive over 100 tonnes of natural uranium for 40 tonnes of this excess heavy water is irresponsible and shows just how out of control the Obama administration has become,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). “No wonder they wanted to keep all this secret.”
Administration officials on Monday said they would not speculate about whether the material would be used for the production of nuclear weapons, but repeatedly said that Iran is allowed to import natural uranium for peaceful purposes.
Albright told TWS that the transfer would undermine efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, even if Iran only uses it for peaceful purposes.
“If the stated purpose of the uranium is for enrichment for fuel, then this sale legitimizes something that the US should strictly oppose, namely an excuse to build a large uranium enrichment program as the deal’s restrictions sunset,” Albright said. “If the purpose is just to allow Iran to increase its stock of natural uranium and participate in the international market, then this is also short-sighted and dangerous, given that Iran is not a responsible member of the international community and may still seek nuclear weapons in the future.”
Iran is only allowed to have 130 metric tons of heavy water under the deal. After Iran breached that cap last February, the Obama administration purchased 32 metric tons of the material, ensuring that Iran was in compliance with the deal.
Top lawmakers were not informed about key details surrounding that purchase, including how it would be paid for.
After Iran exceeded the deal’s limits again in November, administration officials would not call it a formal violation of the nuclear deal.
“If Iran refused to abide by that limit, or obfuscated or tried to hide the ball…then that would be a major concern, and that could be considered a violation,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at the time. “I’m not going to use the V-word necessarily in this case.”
The administration allowed Iran to continue producing heavy water as a concession under the deal, according to experts.
“Iran did not want to either stop production of heavy water or blend down its excess,” read a December report by the ISIS. “Instead of saying no to Iran’s desire to “have its cake and eat it too,” the Obama administration endorsed a major concession.”
Critics of the deal have said that the administration is effectively subsidizing Iran’s nuclear program by purchasing the excess heavy water.
