The Hill (FOX News), 10 August 2015 – Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday he plans to block funding to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until Congress gets access to alleged side deals that are related to the Iranian nuclear agreement.
Graham intends to block $88 million in U.S. funds to the IAEA until lawmakers get the documents, according to a Roll Call report confirmed by the senator’s presidential campaign. Graham is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees that funding.
The report said the GOP presidential contender issued the threat during a “No Nukes for Iran” town hall meeting in South Carolina Monday.
“I’m not for a side deal that I can’t look at,” Graham said.  “The Iranians opposed anytime, anywhere inspections of their military facilities. We said early on that if you can’t determine the military dimensions of a program, then it’s not a good deal. How do you know if it’s a good deal or not?”
The GOP senator originally included the $88 million in the bill that would fund the State Department and foreign operations for the next fiscal year. The legislation has hit a dead end, mainly because of a dispute over funding levels.
Graham said the IAEA has a “secret deal” with Iran that “limits inspections of [Iran’s] military facilities.”
“I don’t believe it’s a deal that until I get to look at it, so that’s the problem here,” Graham said. “I betcha dollar if you looked at it, it would be a joke.”
The alleged side deals are part of a roadmap the IAEA and Iran agreed on in mid-July that focuses on Iran’s previous work on attaining a nuclear bomb.