ICYMI: Forbes.com: The Audacity of Silence On Possible Iran-North Korea Nuclear Ties

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today released a statement in the wake of the Obama Administration's silence regarding potential collusion between Iran and North Korea on nuclear proliferation and China's apparent complicity in enabling such cooperation. He also reiterated his commitment to working with President-elect Trump and the incoming administration to dismantle the Iran deal and rebuild a strong, effective national security for the United States.

In October, Sen. Cruz wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, asking a series of questions to each to get more information about reports of cooperation between Iran and North Korea on building their nuclear programs and reports of China's actions that have enabled their cooperation:

Questions for Secretary Lew:

1. Did the rocket engine that North Korea tested in September of this year obtain the same capability as the engine the Treasury Department referenced in January when it designated eleven Iranian persons for sanctions violations?

Questions for Director Clapper:

2. Does the U.S. Intelligence Community possess the tools it needs to track Iranian and North Korean illicit activity? If not, what additional resources are needed?

3. Has the U.S. intelligence community observed any possible nuclear collaboration between Iran and North Korea following Implementation Day of the JCPOA? Have any of these observations been verified?

4. Does the intelligence community have an adequate understanding of these Chinese linked procurement networks? If not, please explain any gaps in understanding and what can be done to close these gaps.

Questions for Secretary Kerry:

5. What penalties do you plan to announce against Iran in light of its JCPOA violations? How do you intend to pursue enactment of such penalties?

6. What is the United States doing to ensure that the $1.7 billion paid to Iran in cash earlier this year is not used to finance nuclear weapons research in North Korea?

7. What is the United States doing to press China for additional cooperation on illicit procurement networks, to which they are often tied?

8. Has North Korea submitted any proposals to the UNSC for the transfer of nuclear or dual-use goods, technology, or related services to Iran? If yes, who in the U.S. Government was consulted during the review period provided for the Procurement Working Group and the final decision issued by the UNSC?

"I am disappointed that the Obama administration has yet again inexplicably relied on China -- the same nation that also initiated an unsubstantiated financial shakedown of the South Korean company working with the US to deploy THAAD missile defenses -- to defend America's national security interests by means of another meager United Nations Security Council resolution on North Korea, and doubled down on the failed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran," Sen. Cruz said.

Cruz continued, "The United States does not need further opinions of the "international community.' We need to enforce the law and identify and target the entities directly responsible for enabling the financing of Kim Jong-un's nuclear ambitions -- Chinese banks. The Obama administration has the legal mandate to do so, but lacks political will. This is the same President who refused to sign the extension of Iran sanctions into law and whose administration assured the regime that this extension, passed with the support of 99 senators and 419 representatives, would not affect them. I am looking forward to working with President-elect Trump next year to tear up the Iran nuclear deal and to ensure peace through strength in Northeast Asia."

A column posted today by Claudia Rosett in Forbes.com outlines the same concerns highlighted by Sen. Cruz.

Rosett writes, "If the silent officials of the Obama administration are confident that there has been no nuclear cooperation between Iran and North Korea, it's time to put that assessment in writing and send it to Cruz. If, on the other hand, Clapper, Kerry, Lew or Obama himself have any information that points to nuclear collaboration, it's past time to inform Cruz, the rest of Congress and the American public of the staggering extent of the radioactive debacle they are about to hand off to President-elect Donald Trump, under the heading of Obama's legacy Iran nuclear deal."

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