Lieberman, Kyl, Kirk Condemn "Secret Deal" Between Al-Qa'ida and Iran

Statement

U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today issued the following joint statement regarding the U.S. Treasury Department's designations of six Al Qaeda facilitators, including two individuals based in Iran:

"The exposure today by the Treasury Department of what it characterizes as "Iran's secret deal with al-Qa'ida, allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory' casts the threat posed by the Iranian regime in an alarming new light. For many years, some have insisted that religious divisions would prevent Shiite Iran and Sunni al-Qa'ida from working together against us, but that ignored the fact that both want to destroy us. The fact that the Iranian regime has a secret "agreement' with the terrorist group that is responsible for the 9/11 attacks and that continues to try to strike Americans at home and in the region reinforces why Iran is such a uniquely dangerous threat to our country and to the world.

"This revelation should also inject renewed impetus to our efforts to stop Teheran's accelerating nuclear drive. Any regime that makes secret deals with al-Qa'ida cannot be allowed under any circumstances to possess a nuclear weapons capability.

"We thank the Treasury Department for its excellent work that led to the designation of these individuals, and call on the Obama Administration to work with our allies in the region to bring all of these terrorists to justice, including those being sheltered by Iran. We also urge the Administration and Congress to launch a broader reassessment of our Iranian threat based on this new information. In particular, hearings are justified to examine our Iran policy and the implications of the now-exposed relationship between al-Qa'ida and Iran."

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