Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Sen. Ted Cruz Slams State Department for Delaying Iran Human Rights Report
Error: Contact form not found.
by JNS.org
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz slammed the State Department for illegally delaying the publication of a report on human rights violations in Iran. Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
JNS.org – Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Thursday that the Obama administration’s State Department is illegally delaying the publication of a report on human rights violations in Iran, and called on the agency to be fined.
The report was scheduled to be published by Feb. 25, but U.S. sources said it has been bottled to avoid adversely affecting world powers’ negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, which have a June 30 deadline for a deal.
In a Washington Post op-ed, Cruz wrote that in May, he and five other senators wrote to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, asking for information about the delay. According to Cruz, the department replied in a letter dated June 9 that the report had been held back because of Kerry’s travel schedule, noting that “the secretary’s participation in the rollout [of the report], even if it must be delayed by his travel, elevates the report.”
Cruz wrote that “the issue of Iran’s abysmal human rights record is inextricably intertwined with its nuclear ambitions.”
“The State Department… must respect the law, and Congress owes it to the American people to gather all relevant information before it casts what may well be the most significant vote of this legislative session,” he wrote.
Cruz plans to file legislation that would fine the State Department 5 percent of its operating budget for every 30 days the publication of the report is delayed.
