WASHINGTON
A high-ranking White House official said she will brief Congress later Wednesday on provisions of a side deal between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, as part of an Iran nuclear deal.
Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman told the Senate Banking Committee that she has seen portions of the highly debated side document between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"I didn't see the final documents. I saw the provisional documents, as did my experts," Sherman said, adding that her team and she were permitted access only to the side deals and that those deals were "to remain confidential and can't be submitted to Congress".
A number of lawmakers, mostly Republicans, have criticized the Obama administration for not providing details of the side document that they say they need to see before deciding whether to approve a separate nuclear deal that was signed last month between six world powers and Iran.
The Obama administration has strongly defended the nuclear deal and stressed that it was standard practice for the IAEA and countries to have their own separate deals on nuclear inspection.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano will meet Wednesday with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he will discuss "the IAEA's role in verifying and monitoring nuclear-related measures” laid out in the nuclear deal, according to a statement from the agency.
Sherman also said the U.S. is ready to discuss enhanced security for Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal whenever Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to talk.
Netanyahu has characterized the deal as an "historic mistake”.
Iran agreed to unprecedented inspections of its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions that have imperiled its economy. The deal was reached after nearly two years of tense negotiations.
