Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said Monday that the Obama administration had been “completely transparent” about a purchase of nuclear-related material from Iran in April, after the government confirmed this weekend that the purchase had been made by wire.
“We were completely transparent with the heavy water purchase. That was reported to Congress and discussed with Congress,” Moniz said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. “There was no mystery about it. No secrecy.”
He added that the transaction, like “other commercial interactions with Iran,” was licensed by the Treasury Department, and then “transferred in non-U.S. dollar resources.”
“It’s done, the material has arrived, everything has been fine,” Moniz said.
Officials disclosed to Congress last week in a closed session that the $8.6 million purchase for 32 tons of heavy water, meant to help the Islamic Republic comply with the nuclear deal, was made by wire. Heavy water is a material used in the production of weapons-grade plutonium.
The bank transfer undermines administration claims about an earlier $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran, the first $400 million of which was paid around the time that the Islamic Republic released American hostages in January, leading to criticism that it was for ransom and that Iran demanded cash.
Administration officials, including President Obama, have said that the payment had to be made in cash because the U.S. doesn’t have a banking relationship with Iran, and “we couldn’t send them a check and we could not wire the money.”
Republican senators told TWS in July that they had not been briefed on how the administration paid for the heavy water, while Democrats said they had not been updated on the payment in months.
Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo, whose legislation prohibiting the future purchase of heavy water from Iran passed the House in July, asked the administration for more details about the purchase when it was revealed in April, but received a delayed response that contained little information about the method of payment.
“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 in July.
Moniz said in April that the U.S. heavy water purchase would signal to other countries that it’s safe to do business with 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.
