US-Iranian 'Secret Side Deals' Could Backfire

The Obama administration's big push to win congressional approval for the Iranian nuclear deal is underway.

The president's team has promised full disclosure, but some lawmakers uncovered secret side deals that could cause the agreement to lose congressional support.

After Defense Secretary Ash Carter tried to change Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mind about the Iranian deal, Secretary of State John Kerry lobbied members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Kerry promised full disclosure of the agreement.

"We're very much looking forward to answering any and every question that the members of the House have, and later members of the Senate," Kerry said.

But despite the administration's pledge of transparency, two congressmen revealed they recently learned about two covert side deals made between the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., announced details in the following press release, which says the secret deals will not be shared with other countries, Congress, or the public.

The release says, in part:

According to the IAEA, the Iran agreement negotiators, including the Obama administration, agreed that the IAEA and Iran would forge separate arrangements to govern the inspection of the Parchin military complex — one of the most secretive military facilities in Iran — and how Iran would satisfy the IAEA's outstanding questions regarding past weaponization work. Both arrangements will not be vetted by any organization other than Iran and the IAEA, and will not be released even to the nations that negotiated the JCPOA [Iran nuclear agreement]. This means that the secret arrangements have not been released for public scrutiny and have not been submitted to Congress as part of its legislatively mandated review of the Iran deal.

The side deals apparently involve IAEA inspection of the Parchin military base where nuclear-warhead development is proceeding and PMDs (possible military dimensions) of the Iranian nuclear program.

The Cotton-Pompeo disclosure forced National Security Adviser Susan Rice to acknowledge side deals were made involving some sticking points in the negotiations with Iran.

The White House will not make details public, but promises to reveal information about the secret deals in a classified briefing with some members of Congress.

Pompeo, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said the Obama administration agreed to the secret agreements and he said without disclosing them, the president is asking the American people "to trust but not verify."

The intent of that remark was likely to draw comparisons between President Barack Obama's negotiating skills with those of Ronald Reagan.

In December 1987, at the signing of the intermediate nuclear forces deal with the Soviets, President Reagan reminded Mikhail Gorbachev of the old Russian proverb, "trust, but verify."

Republicans admired Reagan for standing up to the Soviets and gaining concessions. Now, 28 years later, they say the secret side deals could make it unlikely to verify that Iran really is complying with this nuclear deal.

In a letter to the president, Pompeo and Cotton wrote, "Failure to produce these two side agreements leaves Congress blind on critical information regarding Iran's potential path to being a nuclear power and will have detrimental consequences for the ability of members to assess the JCPOA. We request you transmit these two side agreements to Congress immediately so we may perform out duty to assess the many important questions related to the JCPOA."

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he'll do everything he can to stop the nuclear deal. Congress has 60 days to consider and debate the agreement before a vote in September.