Wednesday, May 3, 2006 12:42 p.m. EDT
Iran Went Nuclear Despite Secret Clinton Deal


A secret 1995 agreement between the Clinton administration and
then-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was supposed to halt the
transfer of nuclear technology and military equipment to Iran.

But when the Russians continued to help build Iran's premier nuclear
facility at Bushehr, the White House refused to impose sanctions.

Under the accord hammered out by Chernomyrdin and then-Vice President Al
Gore, Russia had agreed to end all weapons sales to Iran by Dec. 31, 1999.

But after uncovering the confidential arrangement, the New York Times
reported that the deal "essentially exempted Russia from American
sanctions on arms deliveries to Iran [and] emboldened Moscow to ignore
other agreements, particularly on sales of missile and nuclear technology
to Iran."


"It was one more of these strange deals that Gore and Chernomyrdin had
that were kept from people," complained Gordon C. Oehler, who directed the
Nonproliferation Center of the Central Intelligence Agency until he
retired in 1998.
Oehler told the Times: "If this had been disclosed to Congress, the
committees would have gone berserk, absolutely. But the larger problem is,
if you have these under-the-table deals that give the Russians permission
to do these things, it gives the signal that it's O.K. to do other
things."

Within a few years the Russians reportedly had 600 scientists working at
the Bushehr nuclear plant.

When Sen. John McCain found out about the secret Gore deal, he complained
that continued Russian defiance "should have triggered sanctions against
Moscow" under the Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act.

"If the administration has acquiesced," fumed McCain, "then I believe they
have violated both the intent and the letter of the law."

The Russians insisted that despite the secret accord, they were obligated
to complete Bushehr, saying the deal they signed with Tehran preceded the
Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement.
By Nov. 2000, however, then-Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani simply
announced that the Gore deal was "dead and buried," a statement that
prompted no objections by the Russians.

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 12:42 p.m. EDT
Iran Went Nuclear Despite Secret Clinton Deal


A secret 1995 agreement between the Clinton administration and then-Russian
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was supposed to halt the transfer of
nuclear technology and military equipment to Iran.

But when the Russians continued to help build Iran's premier nuclear
facility at Bushehr, the White House refused to impose sanctions.

Under the accord hammered out by Chernomyrdin and then-Vice President Al
Gore, Russia had agreed to end all weapons sales to Iran by Dec. 31, 1999.

But after uncovering the confidential arrangement, the New York Times
reported that the deal "essentially exempted Russia from American sanctions
on arms deliveries to Iran [and] emboldened Moscow to ignore other
agreements, particularly on sales of missile and nuclear technology to
Iran."


"It was one more of these strange deals that Gore and Chernomyrdin had that
were kept from people," complained Gordon C. Oehler, who directed the
Nonproliferation Center of the Central Intelligence Agency until he retired
in 1998.
Oehler told the Times: "If this had been disclosed to Congress, the
committees would have gone berserk, absolutely. But the larger problem is,
if you have these under-the-table deals that give the Russians permission to
do these things, it gives the signal that it's O.K. to do other things."

Within a few years the Russians reportedly had 600 scientists working at the
Bushehr nuclear plant.

When Sen. John McCain found out about the secret Gore deal, he complained
that continued Russian defiance "should have triggered sanctions against
Moscow" under the Iran-Iraq Arms Nonproliferation Act.

"If the administration has acquiesced," fumed McCain, "then I believe they
have violated both the intent and the letter of the law."

The Russians insisted that despite the secret accord, they were obligated to
complete Bushehr, saying the deal they signed with Tehran preceded the
Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement.
By Nov. 2000, however, then-Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani simply
announced that the Gore deal was "dead and buried," a statement that
prompted no objections by the Russians.

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 12:42 p.m. EDT
Iran Went Nuclear Despite Secret Clinton Deal


A secret 1995 agreement between the Clinton administration and then-Russian
Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was supposed to halt the transfer of
nuclear technology and military equipment to Iran.

But when the Russians continued to help build Iran's premier nuclear
facility at Bushehr, the White House refused to impose sanctions.