Republicans Urge US Administration To Stop Secret Diplomacy With Iran

According to a report in the Washington Free Beacon, a group of Republican Congressmen on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees wrote a letter Wednesday calling on the United States administration to reveal details of talks in Vienna, which have been paused since March.

"With uncertainty surrounding the status of the negotiation, the American people have a right to know what their diplomats agreed to in Vienna, what alternatives your administration is considering,” they wrote.

The Republicans also demanded the administration reveal how it intended to deal with Iran over other matters, “including its increasingly dangerous missile and drone programs and taking American hostages."

The pause in talks has given ample opportunity for JCPOA critics in both Tehran and Washington. The Republicans have highlighted the prospect that lifting US ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran accepting JCPOA limits on its nuclear program would see Tehran repatriate billions of dollars currently frozen by creditors wary of punitive US action.

The Republicans’ letter urged public hearings. "To date only closed-door classified briefings have been provided to Congress,” they wrote. “This is a start, but it is not enough. Special Envoy Robert Malley works for the American people, and he should answer to them.”