The Biden administration is illegally withholding from Congress intelligence information about Iran's latest military capabilities, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) warned in a Thursday letter.
The New York congresswoman informed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines that the administration was required to provide a report on Iran to Congress nearly eight months ago. "In clear violation of the law, you still have not filed this critical report with the House Foreign Affairs Committee," Tenney wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "It is vital that Congress finally receives this report—even if it is 233 days late—so we can better counteract the threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups, as well as their ongoing actions in the region."
As part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress ordered the DNI to provide Congress with a report on "the advancements in the military capabilities of Iran, especially regarding the capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian-backed groups, including Hezbollah and the Houthis," according to Tenney. The annual defense spending bill was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2021, and gave the Biden administration 180 days to provide the report. That deadline passed on June 25.
The DNI's office did not respond to a request for comment.
The report, Tenney says, is vital to Congress's oversight work and efforts to sanction Tehran's growing military industry, which is providing lethal drone technology to Russia in its war on Ukraine. Critics say the Biden administration is reluctant to disclose new developments in Iran, which would likely fuel calls for increased sanctions against the Iranian regime and torpedo the administration's efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
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