Washington, D.C.—Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) today sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, accepting the offer that Kerry made to Pompeo to brief Congress on the complete contents of the two secret side agreements to the Iran nuclear deal, which the two Republican lawmakers learned of while meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna last weekend. In the letter, Pompeo and Cotton call on National Security Advisor Susan Rice to also join the briefing to discuss the important details of this matter.
 

At a briefing this week on the Iranian nuclear deal, Pompeo questioned Kerry about the two secret side deals made between the IAEA and Iran, which govern the inspection of the famed Parchin military complex and other potential military dimensions (PMD) sites of Iran's nuclear program. Both Kerry and Rice have stated they would be willing to brief Congress on the details of these secret side agreements.

The full text of the letter is below:

July 24, 2015

 

The Honorable John Kerry

Secretary of State

United States Department of State

2201 C Street, NW

Washington DC, 20520

 

 

Dear Secretary Kerry:

            

            We appreciate your taking the time earlier this week to brief Congress on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding Iran's nuclear program. It is vitally important for Congress to fully understand every detail of this agreement and review every associated document.

 

During the briefing, one of us (Congressman Pompeo) had an opportunity to ask you about two separate side agreements concerning the "roadmap for the clarification of past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear program" that were agreed to by both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran. Congressional access to these vital documents is essential for our colleagues and us to make an informed decision about the merits of the JCPOA.  While you stated that you neither possess nor have reviewed either of these documents, you offered to brief Members of Congress on this important matter. Furthermore, on July 22nd National Security Advisor Susan Rice publically declared on the issue, "We know their contents and we're satisfied with them. We will share contents of those briefings in full in a classified session with Congress. So there's nothing in that regard that we know that they won't know." 

 

Therefore, we wholeheartedly accept your and Ms. Rice's offer for a briefing from both of you.  Given the Congressional schedule, this briefing needs to occur during the week of July 27th in order to provide Members the opportunity to understand this deal before voting on the agreement as afforded under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. Our staffs stand ready to help arrange this briefing at your convenience. 

 

                                    Sincerely,