According to Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner (R-OH), the planned prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran is a component of a bigger agreement that includes a nuclear agreement with Iran.
Turner made the comments during an appearance with CBS News’ “Face The Nation” in which he discussed the accord, which apparently also calls for the US to release $6 billion in Iranian assets from an asset freeze.
“The administration has indicated that the releasing of these detainees represents a component of a larger negotiation with the goal of restoring certain controls on the nuclear weaponry as well as the enrichment programs on Iran, going back to the signing of the JCPOA,” Turner stated to host Margaret Brennan. “At this point in time, we are still waiting on the conditions of the deal, and we have no idea what the proposed agreement is,” Turner said. “And the worry is that, according to the NY Times, the administration could be pursuing an informal agreement instead of the formal agreement we had in the past before that was subject to congressional oversight.”
The release of the five American detainees held in Iran, according to Turner, cannot signify that the Biden administration carries out a “secret deal” pertaining to Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
Turner stated that Iran was at one point a year away from a “breakout,” which means the amount of time needed before it could create a nuclear bomb, but that time has now been reduced to a matter of weeks owing to breakthroughs in Iran’s capabilities.
In reference to Iran’s alleged violation of the prior deal, he continued, “Iran pulled the cameras from their sites, and we actually do not have any kind of knowledge of where they are as well as what they’re up to at this point.”
