Graham warns Kerry he could block IAEA funds over ‘side deals’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has warned secretary of State John Kerry that he is “serious” about withholding funds from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until the administration provides Congress with information about side deals between the organization and Iran.

Graham, a presidential candidate and Senate appropriator who oversees IAEA funding, issued the warning to Kerry in a letter on Tuesday, which his office revealed Thursday. Graham also made the threat at a town hall in his home state earlier in the week.

“I respectfully request the Administration to provide in a timely manner to the Congress any and all copies of side agreements between Iran and the IAEA associated with the Iran nuclear deal,” wrote Graham.

“As an indication of how serious I view the provision of copies of these side agreements to our national security, I intend to condition and/or withhold voluntary contributions to the IAEA in fiscal year 2016 should they not be provided prior to the congressional debate next month,” Graham warned.

{mosads}The side deals are part of a roadmap the IAEA and Iran agreed on in mid-July that focuses on Iran’s previous work on attaining a nuclear bomb. Obama administration officials say the side deals are not connected to the Iran nuclear agreement, but they have vowed to brief lawmakers on their contents.

Graham said he intends to work with his Senate colleagues to take “appropriate action” in the fall if the administration does not comply with his request.

He told Kerry there is precedent for the IAEA to share side agreements with Iran. He said that in 2007, the IAEA made public a document about Iran and a non-proliferation agreement in 1974.

State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, however, told the Senate Banking Committee last week that she and her team had only seen rough drafts of the documents.

Graham could choose to withhold the funding in legislation to keep the government funded, which Congress must do by Oct. 1.