Two Republican US presidential contenders, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, are teaming up to press the Pentagon to release a delayed report on Iran's military.
Rubio and Cruz, as well as Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, both from Georgia, said they need the report to be able to "fully assess" the Iran nuclear deal, the Hill reported.
"It is unreasonable to expect Congress to fully assess the implications of any nuclear agreement with Iran without access to the information in this report," the four senators wrote on Friday to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. The Republicans are instructing the Pentagon to publish the report or a "thorough explanation" of its delay by May 30.
The original deadline for the report had been at the end of January, and lawmakers said they have yet to get an update on the report or timeline for its release. The controversy comes as negotiators from the United States, Iran and five other countries — the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany — try to reach a final deal on Tehran's nuclear program before a June 30 deadline.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation earlier this month to allow lawmakers to review and vote on a final nuclear deal. The four lawmakers were part of a group of Republican senators who wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry last week about another delayed report on Iran's human rights practices. The senators asked for the report to be published by May 15, but said they have yet to receive a response.
