(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration plans to go forward with an Iranian nuclear deal that Moscow and Beijing negotiated.
Mikhail Ulyanov, a Russian ambassador who spearheaded the Iranian nuclear talks, said on Feb. 3 that Russia would announce the details of the deal on Friday or Saturday, reported the Washington Free Beacon.
VIDEO: Mikhael Ulyanov, the Russian Ambassador for Iran negotiations says that the deal is “24, maybe 48 hours” away from completion.
The Chinese, Russian, and Iranian governments know what’s in this deal. The U.S. Congress and the American people are being kept in the dark. pic.twitter.com/3ZmUFi7osO
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) March 3, 2022
President Joe Biden and his staff have reportedly not led the negotiations.
The Biden administration has also kept Congress ignorant about the deal’s details, despite the Senate’s Constitutional role in approving all foreign treaties. Plus, Congress passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which gives both chambers the right to review any agreement that the executive branch reaches with Iran.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said that the Biden administration cannot lawfully accept a Russian-designed nuclear agreement without Congressional approval.
“Congressional review of any Iran nuclear deal was enacted with broad bipartisan support to ensure legislative oversight of any dealings regarding the nuclear program of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” McCaul said.
“If the administration circumvents Congress, that is a blinking red light for the American people that this is a bad deal,” he said.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Russia in an attempt to indiscriminately crush its economy, which many consider an act of war, yet has let Russia assume complete control over the high-stakes Iranian nuclear talks.
The State Department did not comment on the agreement, the administration’s role in its creation, or the possibility of Congressional oversight.
“Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine is reprehensible, but we can’t lose sight of the next national security crisis as it forms before our eyes,” McCaul said.
“The Biden administration is reportedly rushing to finalize a deal with Iran, brokered by Russia, that it does not want Congress to review, in violation of U.S. law.”
