Three Republicans Ask to Visit Iran to Observe ‘Iranian Democracy in Action’
(CNSNews.com) – Three Republican lawmakers have asked Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to facilitate their visa applications to visit Iran, where they want to observe “Iranian democracy in action,” meet with imprisoned Americans, and visit nuclear facilities.
Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) say they also want to use the visit to get an update on Iran’s ballistic missile developments, and to discuss with the IRGC its detention last month of 10 U.S. Navy sailors in the Persian Gulf.
“If Iran is truly a partner in peace, as President Obama and Secretary [of State John] Kerry claim, then Iranian leaders should have no problem granting our visas and arranging the requested agenda,” said Pompeo in a statement.
“I look forward to receiving a timely response from Iran.”
The trio visited the Iranian interest section at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Thursday to deliver visa applications. No U.S. lawmaker has visited Iran since ties were severed after the 1979 Islamic revolution and hostage crisis.
In a letter addressed to Khamenei and IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, they informed the two that they “listing you both as contacts in order to facilitate the application process.”
“The primary reason for our visit to Iran is to observe your elections scheduled for February 26th, 2016,” they wrote. “What a historic occasion. We look forward to seeing Iranian democracy in action.”
“It would be a shame if there weren’t any Americans present to validate that the elections were free and fair, for the first time in the clerical regime’s history.”
The lawmakers went on to note the regime’s recent disqualification of more than half of the candidates running in the legislative elections, including most of those viewed as reformists.
Noting the short time left before the election, they asked that the visas be approved “without delay.”
They told Khamenei and Jafari that during their envisioned visit they would also like to “inspect” Iran’s plutonium reactor at Arak, the Fordow underground enrichment facility, and a military site at Parchin [1] where Iran was suspected to have carried out secret nuclear work with military applications.
Pompeo, Zeldin and LoBiondo were among the 269 lawmakers who voted against the Iran nuclear agreement last September. The administration says the deal has cut off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon, by placing curbs on its activity at sites like Arak and Fordow in exchange for sanctions relief.
“It would be of great value to our bilateral relationship, as we work together to monitor U.S. and Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal, to allow us to inspect these facilities,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “It will be important that these tours are in person, substantive, and not mere photo opportunities.”
The three Republicans also asked for “an unmonitored and lengthy meeting” with Americans still imprisoned in Iran, including business Siamak Namazi, and for briefings on Iran’s ballistic missile tests [2] last fall, and on the IRGC Navy’s detention of the U.S. sailors.
“Confusion still exists over the incident on January 12 when your military detained ten U.S. Navy sailors,” they wrote. “For example, did the IRGC
the Geneva Conventions by publishing photos of captured Americans [3], forcing the female sailor to wear a hijab to cover her head, and demanding the commander film a confession?”
“In our judgment such violations did occur,” they wrote, saying a briefing from the IRGC would be “most helpful.”
In his statement, Pompeo said President Obama “has consistently rewarded Iran’s depraved behavior, providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief to this fanatical regime through implementation of his dangerous nuclear agreement.”
“Given the recent changes brought about by these actions, it is critical that we, as members of Congress, visit Iran and verify whether or not this country will uphold the terms of the nuclear deal.”
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