US says deal would bar Iran nuclear bomb in ‘perpetuity’

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration insisted before skeptical lawmakers Thursday that any deal with Iran would ensure in “perpetuity” that it could not develop nuclear weapons.

A comprehensive accord would also see “phased, proportionate” relief from tough sanctions that have severely constrained Iran’s economy, but such relief could be swiftly reversed should the Islamic republic violate any final deal, said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Several members of Congress and other critics have warned that the ongoing negotiations between world powers and Tehran would lead to a deal that would sunset after 10 years.

Once the deal ends, critics fear, the Islamic Republic could once again freely crank up its nuclear program and develop a bomb.

“That is simply not true,” Blinken told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“To the contrary, Iran would be prohibited from developing a nuclear weapon in perpetuity -– and we would have a much greater ability to detect any effort by Iran to do so.”

He said that while some constraints would be lifted after a “significant period,” others would last “indefinitely, including a stringent and intrusive monitoring and inspections regime” by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.

And should Iran violate the agreement and begin a rush to a bomb, a process described as “breakout,” Blinken stressed that restrictions on centrifuges and uranium mills would prevent Iran from completing a nuclear bomb for at least a year.

“That would provide us more than enough time to detect and act on any Iranian transgression,” he said.

A report from the Associated Press Thursday claimed a draft agreement called for Iran to scale back to 6,000 centrifuges in exchange for immediate sanctions relief.

However, US administration officials denied any draft paper was being passed around.

Blinken’s testimony, less than two weeks before a deadline for the outlines of a major deal, came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry reported progress in their talks Thursday in Switzerland, but with much work remaining.

Blinken said Iran would be indefinitely barred under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from developing or acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Democrats and Republicans alike scoffed at the suggestion that such NPT restrictions would hold back Iran, with committee Chairman Ed Royce warning that Iranians “have been violating those commitments for years.”

Adam Szubin, acting undersecretary of treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said if a nuclear deal is struck with Iran, lawmakers should leave congressionally imposed sanctions in place for years.

Royce, a Republican, said that sounded like part of a White House strategy to keep Congress out of the process for years. Lawmakers wary of Iran are pushing to weigh in on any prospective deal and impose new penalties on Tehran.

The administration argues that congressional action now would scuttle the delicate international negotiations underway in Switzerland.

“If we are able to secure a comprehensive understanding, we will structure the nuclear-related sanctions relief in a way that is phased, proportionate and reversible,” said Szubin. “We will need to see verified steps on Iran’s part before sanctions are lifted and we believe that powerful US legislative sanctions should not be terminated for years to come so that we continue to retain important leverage years into a deal.”

He said if a deal is not reached, the administration would work with Congress to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Iran.

Royce pushed back, saying Secretary of State John Kerry has said that any agreement would have to pass muster with Congress.

“Yet that commitment has been muddied by the administration’s insistence in recent weeks that Congress will not play a role. And that’s not right,” Royce said. “Congress built the sanctions structure that brought Iran to the table and if the president moves to dismantle it, we will have a say.”

Royce said it seems as if the Obama administration plans to push the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to “basically bless” this agreement and relax sanctions. “But at the same time, you are pushing off Congress. Why push for UN action and not Congress?”

Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the committee, also defended Congress’ role if the US signs any agreement.

“There really cannot be any marginalization of Congress. Congress really needs to play a very active and vital role in this whole process and any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle,” Engel said.

Blinken said the administration is not “pushing off” Congress.

“Congress will have to exercise its authority to lift sanctions at the end of an agreement if Iran complies,” Blinken said. “And indeed, keeping that until the end — until we see that Iran is compiling, is the best way to sustain leverage.”

Lawmakers also pointed to the need to include restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program in any nuclear deal, as reinforcement against the country using such a delivery system for an atomic bomb.

“The critical question of the possible military dimension of Iran’s program… would have to be part of any agreement,” Blinken acknowledged.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are currently seeking an accord meant to ensure that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian program — an aim it denies having.

The deal is due to be finalized by July.