CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: National Security Data Collection and Iran Nuclear Program

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BLITZER: Let's get some more now. Joining us, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us. SEN. BOB CORKER (R-TN), CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Wolf,

always good to be with you. Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you. You just heard Jim Sciutto's report, the assistant director at the FBI for counterterrorism, Michael Steinback, saying there have been upwards of two hundred Americans who have already traveled or attempted to travel to Syria to join these terror groups. What's going on? What's the plan to try to stop this recruitment of Americans?

CORKER: Wolf, that is obviously huge question. Look, we've been concerned from day one about their ability, as you've been reporting right now, to recruit people through social media. And that's one of the reasons I think you saw this debate that took place on the floor over the last couple of weeks relative to the Patriot Act. I mean, we have tools in place that are not being utilized in their full capacity. We know that technology is changing such we've got to upgrade. But, again, to even lessen our abilities today to deal with some of these things, to me, is not appropriate. Now that's not directly relatable to this social media piece but it is one of the tools that we've been able to utilize to keep terrorist at bay.

So back to the bigger picture, look, this is something we're going to be dealing with for a long, long time. I don't think there's any question to Americans now, as they watch your reporting, as they see what's happening, that ISIS is a national security threat. So we have both the issue of dealing with them on the ground in places like Iraq and Syria and Libya and other places, but also how do we keep people from being influenced? I mean, it's very typical.

And, again, one of the things we have to have is the very best tools at the NSA and other places to try to interdict and to try to make sure that, even when they're encrypted, we scale up and have the ability to intercept and keep bad things from happening here in our country. But this is going to be very complex, very difficult, especially when people don't even have to go to the places that ISIS exists on the ground to be turned in such a way to want to turn on Americans.

BLITZER: This 26-year-old terror suspect who brandished a big knife, Usaama Rahim, in Boston, he was shot by FBI and police. There we're showing a picture of that military-style knife that he had. The plan, according to court papers, for him was to randomly kill, in their words, randomly kill police officers in Massachusetts on June 2nd or June 3rd, today and yesterday. And then to go to another state and behead someone. And supposedly this Usaama Rahim was radicalized by ISIS-inspired social media messages.

Here's the question -- is this just some random incident or is more of this out there potentially?

CORKER: Well, Wolf, I think there's no question that we're concerned that more of it is out there. You have people in this country that obviously feel disassociated from society, they have issues, they're attracted -- I don't know. You've seen some of the publications that have been put out. I read one, looked at one in the cloak room while we were debating the Patriot Act. I mean, these things are done in a very professional way. I mean, these people, I hate to say, have a lot of talent, if you will, in reaching people.

[17:10:04] And so, again, there's multiple ways that people can be radicalized. But I think the one that concerns -- should concern Americans the most is the route you're talking about right now, where just through a social media site, you take someone who's unhappy with their state in life, for whatever reason, and they feel like they're a part of a greater cause, unfortunately, a cause that to me is certainly a terrible cause, and they commit these random acts.

And, you know, we've seen messages going out -- you've read them -- you know, trying to engage lots of people in random acts around our country to disrupt our society. And that's what we're dealing with here.

BLITZER: All right, Senator, I want you to stand by. We have more to discuss involving ISIS, what's going on in Iraq, Iran. A lot more with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when we come back.

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BLITZER: All right. We'll see what happens. Elise, thanks very much.

I want to get the reaction from the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee is still with us.

I know you've watched this debate unfold. Where do you stand on who's right? Would it be "The New York Times'" report or would you say the State Department and Marie Harf, the strategic affairs advisor? I guess that's your new title over there. CORKER: Well, let me start by saying there's no question that Iran cannot be trusted. And I think that's universally felt. I don't think there are people on either side of the aisle that believe that Iran can be trusted. So this is not a trust but verify type of arrangement. It should be solely verify, verify, verify.

There's no question that their stockpile has increased. That's not debatable. And what I hope is going to happen, they do have to get down to 300 kilograms as part of the agreement. I guess the question is, Wolf, are they doing this to put themselves in a better negotiating position by growing this stockpile while the negotiations are under way? Or are they not going to live by it? We don't know.

I mean, I hope there will be no sanctions alleviated until they get down to that 300 kilogram stockpile.

Now, the problem is when the person said, "Well, this is not an issue, this can be dealt with," well, I would like to know how. I mean, they don't have a conversion facility to down-blend or downgrade or to do what they need to do with the 5 percent. So are they going to ship it out of the country?

[17:20:19] Those are issues that need to be dealt with and, hopefully, will be dealt with and hopefully -- again, we haven't seen the final agreement. It will be in a very black-and-white, explicit way that they have to deal with this. But again, they do have to get down to 300 kilograms per the political agreement that was reached on April 2.

BLITZER: I know that you've suggested that there was some sort of administration document out there that has the outlines of an agreement with Iran and what would happen after year ten. This is supposed to be a ten-year deal. You say the administration is refusing to share that document. What's going on here?

CORKER: So if you read the political agreement that was achieved on April the 2nd, there's reference to something called the Iranian -- the Iranian nuclear development program. It's not capitalized. But there's a document that explains what Iran is able to do per the agreement after the ten-year period.

You also may remember that the president -- probably his staff was not happy with him in doing this. But in an NPR interview shortly thereafter talked about that, really, in year 13, they would be at almost zero breakout time.

And so I'd like to understand what we've agreed to relative to their nuclear development capabilities after year ten. I've asked the State Department for the document. They haven't given it to me. I've asked the Energy Department for the document. They haven't given it to me. I've asked the White House for the document. They haven't given it to me.

And the only thing I can imagine, because they have not shared it with me and I know that it exists, is that they think that it would shed bad light on what they've agreed to. And I think it would cause people to have concerns, again, after year ten what Iran is able to do relative to the number of centrifuges, relative to the other kinds of development activities.

And I think, Wolf, most of us want to make sure that, if we're going to enter into an agreement, it's an agreement that will keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon over a long term. And I don't really understand, unless they're concerned about what this content is or how it might shed light on the deal that's happened, I don't understand why they will not share with us what this document says. Again, it's their view of what they've agreed to relative to the Iranian nuclear development program.

BLITZER: So very quickly, Mr. Chairman, if they don't share that document with you and your colleagues, even behind closed doors in a classified session, you won't be able to support any deal that emerges? Is that what I'm hearing?

CORKER: I can't imagine they're not going to give it to us when they actually consummate this deal. But we're having all kinds of briefings right now, Wolf, to make ourselves as up-to-date as we can on where this is. Last night we met with three scientists, the leaders of our national laboratories around the country that are dealing with this issue, and the energy secretary to walk through the technical aspects.

There's so much of this that is classified that, though it's very technical -- and so we want to make sure that senators that are going to be dealing with this on the committee spend this entire month going through and making sure we're educated and understanding what the important aspects are technically of this deal but also politically.

And again, I think this is a document that would be very helpful to us. I can't imagine, if the administration is proud of their work and proud of this agreement, why they would not go ahead and share that with us now.

BLITZER: Senator Corker, thanks very much for joining us.

CORKER: Thank you.

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