Will unlikely to ever. And well continue to stand alongside them. The may 2015 joint statement following the u. S. And Gulf Cooperation Council or gcc meetings at camp david provided a road map for how the administration plans to proceed. Critics of the vienna agreement point to flaws related to irans missile capability and support of terrorist proxies across the region. The camp david statement outline ours commitment to enhancing Ballistic Missile defense capabilities of the gcc and improving their operability to enhance defense. It sates well be increasing training and exercise engagements with gcc special Operation Forces developments to better defend against iran. These are important efforts i look forward to hearing about today. One final point. These negotiations focused on denying iran a pathway to a Nuclear Weapon. A nuclear iran would be a more Formidable Force in the region. And as it has repeatedly demonstrated, not a force for peace and stability but one that invokinge inging terror. Could lead to catastrophe. None of us would condone or support irans support of terror or otherdestabilizing activities in the region. The history of arms control makes this point. As fred kaplan our National Security, pert points out. The United States strategic Arms Treaties didnt require the soviet union to disaso i have communism or institute jeffersonian democracy. But the deals were still useful. Provided a forum for diplomas. A cooling off of distrust and hatred. A time when no other issue could have done so. Thank you. Thank the witnesses for being here today. And secretary carter could we begin with you. Yes mr. Chairman, thank you. And with your leave i think that you preferred and thats fine with us if only i and general dempsey make Opening Statements. Because the other witnesses i hope thats agreeable to the other witnesses. It is. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you Ranking Member reed and thank all the members of the committee for giving me the opportunity to testify this morning on our Defense Strategy towards this critical region. In the wake as senator reed noted of my travels to the region last week the chairmans also and of course very importantly two weeks after the conclusion of the joint comprehensive plan of action. Im pleased to be joined by my fellow cabinet members who can talk in detail about that agreement reached in vienna. That deal is an important step. One brought about by the leadership of president obama the persistent diplomas of secretaries kerry, moniz and others. Crippling sanctions that secretary lew led and that Congress Helped put in place. It is a good deal because it prevents iran from getting a Nuclear Weapon in a comprehensive and verifiable way. Once implemented, it will therefore remove a critical element of risk and uncertainty. One element of risk and uncertainty. But a critical element of risk and uncertainty from the region. For those reasons and those my colleagues have provided in testimony before other congressional committees, i urge you to support it. I also urge you to support the broader elements of the Defense Strategy in the mideast i will describe. Including and especially by supporting a stable and reformed Defense Budget to implement it. The successful negotiation of this deal is one part of our broader foreign and defense policy. As the most influential power in the world we have responsibilities all over the globe. The mideast remains important to Americas National interests. And as a result the department of defense is excited to confronting the regions two principal security challenges, iran and isil. The departments strategic approach to protecting our interests and confronting those challenges will remain unchanged. We will continue to maintain a Strong Military posture to deter aggression, to bolster the security of our friends and allies in the region, especially israel. To insure freedom of navigation in the gulf. To check irans malign influence. And to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. We are also continuing to advance our military capabilities that provide all options, as the president has directed, should iran walk away from its commitments under this deal. Last week i was in the mideast and i had the opportunity to visit with some of our men and women in uniform who were carrying out this strategy. I know how much all of you care for them. And like me, you are proud of their impressive work. And ill tell you this morning what i told them. We are continuing full speed ahead. Standing with our friends, standing up to isil and standing against irans malign activity. On isil, as i testified earlier this month we have the right strategy in place built on nine synchronized lines of effort to achieve isils lasting defeat. But we continue to strengthen execution. Today in iraq and other places were working with partners on the ground in Global Coalition to enable capable and motivated Ground Forces to win back iraqs sovereignty and peace on its own territory. I saw several parts of that effort last week and spoke with partners on the ground. Were headed in the right direction in this counterisil effort. We made some progress but beneed to to make more. An iran this deal will effectively cutoff its pathways to the fissile material for a nuclear bomb. But it is also important to note that it places no limitations let me repeat that. No limitations on what the department of defense can and will do to pursue our Defense Strategy in the region. It places no limits on our forces, our partnerships and alliances, our intensive and ongoing Security Cooperation or on our development and fielding of new military capabilities, capabilities we will continue to advance. If iran were to commit aggression, our robust force posture ensures we can rapidly surge an overwhelmingly display of forces into the region researching or most advanced capabilities married with sophisticated munitions that put no target outlet out of reach. Iran and its ss proxies will still support challenges. Supports syria, backs hezbollah and lebanon. Whose fighting i observed firsthand last week. And is contributing to disorder in yemen. And iran still directs hostility and violence to our closest ally in the region, israel. In the face of that malign activity we will continue to meet our commitments to our friends and allies in the region. Especially israel. And continue to build on and enhance our cooperation in meaningful ways. I made that leerclear last yeek week. I also maintain that we will continue to maintain our posture ashore and afloat which includes 10s of thousands of military personnel. Our friends understand despite our differences with some of them about the merits of this deal that we have an enduring commitment to deterrence and regional security. Im proud to say that our defense partnerships in the region have never been stronger. And as i made clear in israel and as we agreed at camp david with you are a Gulf Partners as senator reed indicated, were committed to making them stronger and more capable against a range of threats. The United States will maintain its iran clad commitment to israels qualitative military edge or qme. Advanced capabilities. For example next year israel will be our first and only friend in the region flying the f35 strike fighter. We continue to work with israel on Missile Defense systems. In fact three of them. The iron dome david sling and the arrow system for missiles progressively increaseing range. And working multilaterally and bilaterally to improve capability and capacity of our Gulf Partners also. At the gcc summit at camp david hoesded by the president in may and last week with saudi leaders, i stressed a number of functional areas that will be critical to enabling gulf countries to play a stronger regional role. Including maritime forces, Ground Forces including specially special operations and Counterterrorism Forces air and Ballistic MissileDefense Forces and cyber protection. We also conduct over 50 military exercises a year with our regional partners. And weve offered sophisticated defense equipment, including the thad and Long Range Strike capabilities to some of our Gulf Partners. In conclusion this is a good deal because it removes a continued source of threat and uncertainty in a comprehensive and verifiable way by preventing iran from getting a Nuclear Weapon. It is a deal that takes no option away from a future president. This is an important achievement and a deal that deserves your support. Meanwhile the United States, the department of defense and the men and women of the finest fighting force the world has ever known with your support will continue to be committed to the defense of americas interest, friends and allies to counter isil and irans malign influence and to uphold the president s commitment that iran will not obtain a Nuclear Weapon should it walk away from this deal thank you. Through mr. Secretary. General dempsey. Chairman, Ranking Member reed and the others of this committee for the opportunity. Given our discussion before this body just a few weeks ago ill keep my comments brief. As ive stated previously i was consulted on the military implications during the course of the negotiations and provided my best military advice appropriately. If followed the deal addresses one critical and the most dangerous point of friction with the iranian regime. But as ive stated repeatedly there are at least five other malign activities which give us and our regional partners concern concern. They run the gamut from Ballistic Missile technology to weapons traffickings to the use of surrogates and proxies to naval mines and undersea activity and last but not least to moolicious activity in cyber space. The negotiating deal does not aleve our concerns in those five areas. It does not change the options at our disposal. And our ongoing activities we will continue to engage our partners in the region to reassure them and to address these areas. Ultimately time and iranian behavior will determine if the Nuclear Agreement is effective and sustainable. In the interimly continue to provide my best military advice and present the options. With that i stand subject to your questions. I mention to my colleagues, we have a vote on right now. And usually we bounce back and forth. But i think that this is important enough for us to recess for until the completion of the second vote. I understand that there is two. One is ending right now and the other is beginning. So id ask the indulgence of our witnesses and i apologize if we could recess for approximately 10 minutes while we were able to complete these two votes. I any thisthink this hearing is important enough not to have a us bounce back and forth. Because i think all members would like to hear the complete testimony. So i again my apologies. Well stand down for 10 minutes. So as you heard the committee is taking a break. Secretary of state john kerry testifying along with defense secretary ashton carter. Also Energy Secretary ernest moniz and chief chair Martin Dempsey who gave his Opening Statement already this morning. And also joining them will be secretary jack lew. Secretaries kerry and moniz testified before the House Foreign Affairs committee yesterday along with secretary jack lew. While this committee is at a break well get Opening Statements from that hearing yesterday. Last congress we passed comprehensive sanctions legislation via vote of 400 to 20. It would have given irans Supreme Leader a choice between its Nuclear Program or economic collapse. But the administration was successful in blocking that legislation. So instead of us considering a verifiable, enforceable and accountable agreement, we are being asked to consider an agreement that gives iran permanent sanctions relief for temporary nuclear restrictions. Should iran be given this special deal . In september Committee Members will face the important decision of approving or disapproving this agreement. We will have that vote only because of the iran Nuclear Agreement review act passed in may which the administration did not want. To be frank, the administrations preference has been to sideline americas representatives. So i was not entirely surprised when the administration went against bipartisan calls and gave russia and china and others at the u. N. Security council a vote on this agreement before the american public. That is backwards and wrong. Weve heard serious concerns from experts about the substance of this agreement. First, iran is not required to dismantle key bomb making technology. Does that make the world safer . Second, it is permitted a vast enrichment capacity, reversing decades of bipartisan non proliferation policy. Does that make the region more stable . And third, iran is allowed to continue its research and development to gain an industrial scale Nuclear Program once this agreement begins to expire in as little as 10 years. 10 years that is a flash in time and then the iranian obligations start unwinding. Does this make the world more secure . We appreciate president obamas effort to secure the most Intrusive Inspections in history. But it came up short. Instead there is managed access with iran, russia and china having a say in where International Inspectors can and cant go. The deals 24 day process is a far cry from anywhere, any time. And this provision expires too. While the administration is professed absolute knowledge about irans program, it is a fact that we have been surprised by most every Major Nuclear development in irans history. And iran has cheated on every agreement they have signed. So i ask, mr. Secretary, has iran earned the right to be trusted . This deal guts the sanctions web that is putting intense pressure on iran. Virtually all economic, financial and energy sanctions disappear. And where does all that money go . To the largest Terror Network on earth. Gone are the sanctions on irans Nuclear Program. But also on the bad banks that have supported iran Easter Ritual and Ballistic Missile development. And two our dismay, iran won a late concession to remove International Restrictions on its Ballistic Missile program and conventional arms imperilling the security of the region and our homeland. If this agreement goes through, iran gets a cash bonanza. With sweeping sanctions relief we have lessened our ability to challenge irans conduct across the board. As iran grows stronger we will be weaker to respond. Yes the u. S. Would roil diplomatic waters if Congress Says no to this deal. Sanctions that iran desperately needs relief from. Sanctions that continue to deter companies from investing in iran. I understand the stakes but these are about as high stakes as it gets. So the committee must ask if we made the most of our pretty strong hand. Or are we willing to bet, as the administration has, that this is the beginning of a changed iran . These are complex issues. And i look forward to what should be an extremely informative hearing and i turn to the Ranking Member. Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening this hearing. Secretary kerry, secretary lew. Secretary moniz, welcome to the Foreign Affairs committee. Thank you all for your dedicated service no matter what side of the issue is on i dont think anyone here doubts your commitment to the United States and the good intentions on this deal. Thank you for the time you have taken to engage with members of congress on the proposed deal can and thank you for your testimony today. Congress gave itself 60 days to renew this deal. And i sincerely hope my colleagues take full advantage of the time to study this agreement torques ask questions and to make an informed decision when the time comes. Weve had many months and hearings to discuss the different aspects of a Nuclear Agreement with iran. But at this point we are no longer dealing with hypotheticals. We have a specific deal on the table. And we have to decide if that deal advances the National Security interests of the United States and or allies. To answer that question to be fair we also need to ask ourselves what is the alternative . Absent this deal or the International Sanctions regime and the p5 1 coalition hold together . If this