posted October 17, 2000 11:19 PM

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In a classified "Dear Al" letter obtained by The Washington Times, Mr. Chernomyrdin told Mr. Gore about Moscow's confidential nuclear deal with Iran and stated that it was "not to be conveyed to third parties, including the U.S. Congress."
But sources on Capitol Hill said Mr. Gore withheld the information from key senators who normally would be told of such high-level security matters.
The Gore-Chernomyrdin deal, disclosed in a letter labeled "secret," appears to violate a provision of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Act, which requires the Clinton administration to keep congressional oversight committees fully informed of all issues related to nuclear weapons proliferation.
The Chernomyrdin letter on nuclear cooperation with Iran follows a report in the New York Times last week showing that Mr. Gore reached a secret deal with Russia several months earlier that appears to circumvent U.S. laws requiring the imposition of sanctions on Russia for its conventional arms sales to Iran.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-20001016225454.htm

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