WASHINGTON D.C. – During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned top Obama Administration officials – including the Secretaries of Defense, Treasury, and Energy – on the Iran nuclear agreement.

In his line of questioning, Senator King pressed Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on how other countries, including our P5+1 negotiating partners and the European Union, would react if the United States were to reject the deal: “What would the allies’ reaction be, in terms of the sanctions, if the U.S. rejected this agreement?” Senator King asked Lew. “[…] Would it be fair to say that the sanctions regime would fray – if not unravel, erode?”

In his response, Secretary Lew argued that other countries would likely not look favorably on the U.S. rejecting the agreement and that the U.S. could encounter more difficulty rallying the international community around sanctions, meaning that the sanctions would, as Senator King mentioned, likely fray. Secretary Lew also did note, however, that many secondary sanctions on the part of the U.S. would likely continue to be respected by our partners.

Senator King also pushed Secretary Carter on whether nuclear proliferation would increase or decrease as a result of the agreement: “Secretary Carter, you just visited the Middle East – Is the danger of proliferation greater or lesser as a result of this agreement?” Senator King asked Carter. “In other words, are some of our allies in the region – who may think about their own [nuclear] weapon – are they less likely to acquire a weapon because of this agreement or more likely?”

Secretary Carter responded by saying that, should Iran implement the deal, which would prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon, he believes that logic would suggest it would be less likely that other countries in the region would attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon.  

Senator King also questioned Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz about a provision in the agreement which specifies that if the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects that Iran is operating a previously undisclosed nuclear weapons facility, the agency can then request an inspection of that facility, which must be initiated within 24 days of the request: “And finally this famous 24 days – is there any way that [Iran] could clean up a facility where they had been processing fissile material sufficiently that it could not be discovered if the inspection took place after 24 days?” Senator King asked Moniz.

Moniz responded that, while he cannot promise that it could never happen, he is highly confident that evidence of the presence of fissile material at previously undisclosed nuclear sites would be discovered even after the 24-day timeframe. He continued to say that the danger for Iran of getting caught would be extremely high should they attempt hide any such material. The agreement ensures that inspection of known nuclear sites would be allowed at any time.

Since the nuclear agreement with Iran was announced earlier this month, Senator King has called for careful and responsible review of the deal. In addition to today’s Senate Armed Services hearing, he has also participated in Senate Intelligence Committee hearings on the agreement and last week attended a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, despite not being a member of the Committee. Senator King also continues to solicit counsel from experts outside of the Administration, including former diplomats and arms control officials.

In addition to Secretaries Carter, Lew, and Moniz, Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey also testified before Committee.

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