Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry this week threatening to cut off U.S. funding for the International Atomic Energy Agency, unless the body makes public information on how it will monitor Iran’s compliance with last month’s the nuclear agreement.
A Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee chairman and GOP presidential hopeful, Graham “respectfully” asked the administration in a letter made public on Thursday “to provide in a timely manner to the Congress any and all copies of side agreements between Iran and the IAEA associated with the Iran nuclear deal.”
Graham said members of Congress need access to this “vital” information before they vote in September on an expected resolution disapproving of the overall nuclear deal Tehran brokered with six world powers, “irrespective” of their thoughts on the underlying pact.
Graham points out that there is precedent for the IAEA making similar confidential documents public and then threatens to use the power of the purse strings.
“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,” he wrote.
The Senate’s current bill for funding agencies such as the State Department includes $88 million for the IAEA.
Read Graham’s letter here:
