U.S. free to curb Iran, Senate told

Deal doesn’t limit military steps in region, defense chief says

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter (left) and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey were among officials testifying Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on military options related to the nuclear deal with Iran.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter (left) and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey were among officials testifying Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on military options related to the nuclear deal with Iran.

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. retains all of its military options against Iran as it works to protect U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East, no matter what happens under the nuclear accord reached this month.

The deal between Iran and six world powers "places no limitations -- let me repeat that, no limitations -- on what the Department of Defense can and will do to pursue our defense strategy in the region," Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.

Seeking to reassure skeptical lawmakers about the agreement for Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions, Carter said U.S. military options would be "marginally better" with the deal in place because of the increased intelligence gained from international inspections of Iranian facilities.

He also said the Pentagon is "improving" its military options in case the deal unravels, though he declined to elaborate in the public session.

Those promises did little to assuage Republicans, who expressed renewed opposition to an accord they said would make Iran the dominant power in the region through tens of billions of dollars of sanctions relief and the lifting of a conventional arms embargo.

If lawmakers pass a resolution rejecting the agreement, President Barack Obama has promised to veto it.

Obama officials are working to assure Congress that the administration is prepared to offer additional assistance to Israel and the Persian Gulf states and to respond militarily to Iranian aggression.

"If Iran were to commit aggression, our robust posture ensures we can rapidly surge an overwhelming array of forces into the region, leveraging our most advanced capabilities, married with sophisticated munitions that put no target out of reach," Carter said.

Sen. John McCain, the committee chairman, rejected those arguments.

"When we consider these broader strategic consequences of the agreement -- the second-order effects -- what is already a bad deal only looks that much worse," he said.

The Arizona Republican took aim at provisions of the deal that would lift the United Nations embargo against conventional weapons sales to and by Iran after five years and restrictions on its ballistic missile program after eight years.

Secretary of State John Kerry told the committee that the U.S. was comfortable with an eight-year limit on ballistic missile restrictions "because we have a number of other tools already available to us" to curb Iran's missile capabilities.

Carter, however, said he "wouldn't rule out that in 10 years Iran could progress" to an intercontinental ballistic missile. "That's why we need to protect ourselves," he said.

Dempsey, Obama's top uniformed military adviser, said he had recommended against a lifting of the conventional arms embargo and ballistic missile restrictions.

"That was my military advice," which was overtaken in the negotiations, he said.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who also testified at Wednesday's hearing, said Iran is likely to gain access to $50 billion to $60 billion in frozen assets held by foreign banks even if the nuclear deal unravels. "I don't think they will feel bound to hold that money," he said of the banks.

Meanwhile, France sought Wednesday to restart diplomatic ties with Iran in the hope of boosting business in the country.

The July 14 deal between Iran and six world powers -- the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany -- is meant to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

Critics of the accord have said that the sanctions relief provided in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program will allow it to spend more on its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on regional proxies such as Hezbollah, on allies such as the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad and on other activities such as aiding the Houthis' fight in Yemen.

Kerry is scheduled to meet Monday in Doha, Qatar, with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council members.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called his one-day visit to Iran "an important trip" and tried to soften tensions created by France's hard line on the nuclear issue.

Iran's state news agency IRNA described the visit -- the first by a French foreign minister in over a decade -- as the start of a "new era" in bilateral ties. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Fabius that the nuclear deal could "bring better relations with Europe," IRNA reported.

Fabius said he carried an invitation from French President Francois Hollande for Rouhani to visit France in November and that a French economic delegation is expected to arrive in Iran by the end of summer.

France hopes to position itself to benefit from Iran's promising economy. Iran, a nation of 80 million, is set for 3 percent growth this year. Iran has the fourth-largest oil reserves and the second-largest gas reserves of the world.

Fabius' trip followed that of the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, the day before, as the EU and Iran pursue closer relations after the nuclear deal. German economy minister Sigmar Gabriel was the first top Western official to visit Iran after the nuclear agreement.

Information for this article was contributed by David Lerman, Terry Atlas and John Walcott of Bloomberg News and by Ali Akbar Dareini and Sylvie Corbet of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/30/2015

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