House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said during an interview over the weekend that a proposed prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran is part of a larger deal involving a nuclear deal with Iran.
Turner made the remarks during an interview with CBS News’ “Face The Nation” while talking about the agreement, which also reportedly includes the U.S. unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian assets.
“At this point, we have not received the terms of the deal, or even what the proposed deal is the administration has signaled that the release of these detainees is part of a broader negotiation with respect to reinstating some controls on the nuclear weapons and enrichment programs of Iran, dating back to the JCPOA,” Turner told host Margaret Brennan. “And the concern is that, the New York Times has reported, is that the administration may be pursuing an informal deal as opposed to the formal deal that we had before that had congressional oversight.”
Turner said that everyone wants to get the five American prisoners in Iran released and back home but that can’t mean the Biden administration implements a “secret deal” with regards to Iran’s enrichment program.
Turner noted that Iran was previously a year away from “breakout,” which refers to the length of time it would need before it could build a nuclear weapon, and now, due to advancements in Iran’s technology, that period of time has been shortened to a matter of weeks.
Iran “removed the cameras from the sites, we really don’t have the fidelity of understanding of where they are, what they’re doing at this point,” he added when discussing how Iran had violated the previous agreement.
WATCH:
.@RepMikeTurner, House Intelligence Committee Chair, says the Biden admin is “signaling” that its reported hostage agreement “is a part of a broader deal concerning Iran's enrichment program.”
“If that becomes a secret deal, then that's obviously a great concern to Congress.” pic.twitter.com/kQ1ULgRQ7D
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 13, 2023