First Hearing on June 10 on Verifying Iran’s Compliance with its Nuclear Commitments

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced that the Committee will convene a series of hearings on the Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the Obama Administration’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Tehran.  At the first hearing, on Tuesday, June 10, the Committee will examine how the United States and international community can best verify Iran’s compliance with its nuclear commitments.  The hearing, entitled “Verifying Iran’s Nuclear Compliance,” will begin at 10:00 a.m.
 
Chairman Royce on the hearing:  “A nuclear Iran is the gravest national security threat facing the United States today.  Given Iran’s long record of deception, any nuclear agreement in which we cannot completely verify compliance would be an open invitation for Tehran to continue its secret nuclear weapons program, forcing the world to live with the permanent threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. At this hearing, the Committee will examine, with top national security experts, the requirements that would be needed for the United States and international inspectors to comprehensively verify Iran’s compliance with its nuclear commitments.”
 
Under Chairman Royce’s leadership, the Committee has focused on preventing a nuclear Iran.  Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) are the authors of H.R. 850, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act, which increases pressure on the Iranian regime amid its continued attempt to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.  Royce and Engel have advocated for the Senate to take up and pass the legislation, which passed the House last year with overwhelming support.   The Committee has convened a number of hearings focused on preventing a nuclear Iran; at the most recent hearing, Secretary of State John Kerry testified on the Administration’s interim nuclear deal with Iran.
 
What:
Hearing: Verifying Iran’s Nuclear Compliance
 
When:
10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10
 
Where:
2172 Rayburn House Office Building
 
Witnesses:
 
The Honorable Stephen G. Rademaker
National Security Advisor
Bipartisan Policy Center
(Former Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control & Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State)
 
Mr. John A. Lauder
Senior Advisor
20twenty Strategic Consulting, Inc.
(Former Director, Nonproliferation Center, Intelligence Community)
 
Mr. Olli Heinonen
Senior Fellow
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
(Former Deputy Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency)
 
The Honorable Joseph R. DeTrani
President
Intelligence and National Security Alliance
(Former Director, National Counter Proliferation Center, Office of the Director of National Security)
 
***See foreignaffairs.house.gov for updates.
 
***Coverage note:  All Foreign Affairs Committee proceedings are webcast live at foreignaffairs.house.gov/live-video-feed.

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