[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3061-3062]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       ONGOING IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Byrne) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my serious concerns 
about the ongoing Iran nuclear talks. Iran is no friend to the United 
States or our allies. Iran remains the foremost state sponsor of 
terrorism in the world.
  Iran has continued to develop intercontinental ballistic missile 
technology. The only legitimate purpose of such technology is to 
deliver a nuclear payload.
  Don't just take my word for it. Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, 
the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently wrote in his 
statement for the record to the House Armed Services Committee:

       The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to threaten U.S. 
     strategic interests in the Middle East. Iran's actions and 
     policies are designed to further its goal of becoming the 
     dominant regional power, as well as to enhance its strategic 
     depth. Tehran views the United States as its most capable 
     adversary and has fashioned its military strategy and 
     doctrine accordingly.

  In terms of nuclear capabilities, General Stewart goes on to say:

       We continue to assess that Iran's goal is to develop 
     capabilities that would allow it to build missile-deliverable 
     nuclear weapons, should a decision be made to do so. The 
     regime faces no insurmountable technical barriers to 
     producing a nuclear weapon, making Iran's political will the 
     central issue.

  One Arab official recently told The Wall Street Journal: ``We prefer 
a collapse of the diplomatic process to a bad deal.''
  Since they started in 2009, the negotiations with Iran have been 
marked by missed deadline after missed deadline. It seems like each 
time details of the deal are leaked to the press, the United States is 
giving up more, whether it is the number of centrifuges or the length 
of the deal.

                              {time}  1215

  Just last week, Secretary of State John Kerry came before the House 
Foreign Affairs Committee and pleaded for more time and understanding 
as the State Department continues to hold talks about Iran's nuclear 
program. He asked it to sit silently while the details are negotiated 
in secret. He urged us to just trust him and his team.
  Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly hard to trust an 
administration that continually fails at these kinds of negotiations. 
Look at the Bergdahl deal when he gave away five high-level al Qaeda 
officials. Look at the recent talks with Cuba in which the United 
States received very little while we released Cuban spies and pledged 
open trade relations. And we can't forget about President Obama telling 
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he will have ``more 
flexibility'' to deal with nuclear issues after the 2012 Presidential 
elections--flexibility to deal with Vladimir Putin. Far too often they 
give away the bank, and we get very little in return.
  Tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will come to this 
Chamber to share his perspective on the threats posed by a nuclear 
Iran. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have 
complained that the speech is somehow out of line or for political 
purposes only. They have pledged to boycott the event, and the Vice 
President has refused to attend.
  Mr. Speaker, I remain greatly disturbed by the way the Obama 
administration has treated Israel, our greatest and most important ally 
in the Middle East. I suspect the real reason the Obama administration 
is so opposed to Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech is because they are 
afraid of what he is going to say. They know he will speak the truth 
and that his statements will stand in direct contrast to what is being 
said by Secretary of State Kerry. Prime Minister Netanyahu won't hide 
the real issues. These nuclear talks threaten not only Israel, but also 
the Middle East and the entire world.
  Last summer, I traveled to the Middle East with the Armed Services 
Committee. During that trip, we met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and 
he really impressed me. He has a clear vision and message about his 
country's

[[Page 3062]]

defensive needs, and he is very determined to meet those needs.
  Mr. Speaker, Israel is our strongest and most consistent ally in the 
Middle East. We should listen to what they have to say.

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