CENTCOM Nominee: There Are Risks with Iran's Sanctions Relief

Central Command (CENTCOM) candidate Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla (AP)
Central Command (CENTCOM) candidate Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla (AP)
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CENTCOM Nominee: There Are Risks with Iran's Sanctions Relief

Central Command (CENTCOM) candidate Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla (AP)
Central Command (CENTCOM) candidate Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla (AP)

US President Joe Biden's candidate for chief of Central Command (CENTCOM), Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla, warned Iran might use the money resulting from the sanctions waivers to support its proxies in the region.

Kurilla told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there is a risk with sanctions relief that "Iran would use some of that money to support its proxies and terrorism in the region. And if they did, it could increase the risk to our forces in the region."

US officials stated that they likely have until the end of this month to salvage the nuclear agreement with Iran.

CNN quoted senior administration officials as saying that "this session is the critical one… We are genuinely in the very final stretch."

Kurilla's warnings reflected the military leaders' concern about Iran's growing influence in the region.

"Iran is the No. 1 destabilizing factor in the Middle East right now with their malign behavior," testified Kurilla, calling on the US to maintain strong relations with the countries of the world and enhance its capabilities to confront the Iranian threat.

The General stressed the importance of artificial intelligence in confronting Iran, adding that he would boost this strategy if approved for the position, noting that the US must continue to invest in technology, including artificial intelligence, to enhance its capabilities to respond to Iran's military capabilities.

Kurilla also referred to the Houthis' recent ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, stressing the importance of publicly accusing Iran of these attacks.

The US must expose Iran's involvement in such actions whenever possible, said Kurilla.

At the hearing, the army general said it's critical to help partners in the region improve cyber defenses that can protect them from Iran's "very capable offensive cyber capability."

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives members sat in the opposite section of the building listening to the President's Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, to discuss developments on the nuclear talks in Vienna.

Malley participated in the hearing via videoconferencing to answer questions about the administration's negotiations over the return to the 2015 nuclear deal amid concerns over the pace of Iran's nuclear advances and sanctions implementation.

The envoy provided his first classified briefing on Capitol Hill and it was evident that bipartisan legislators were running out of patience with Malley.

Representative Claudia Tenney, a committee member, led the pressure on Malley to testify

She said later that the session left her with more questions than answers.

"Before today, Rob Malley had yet to appear before the full Foreign Affairs Committee, either publicly or in private, to answer our questions and explain to the American people why sanctions are not being fully enforced on Iran," Tenney said.

"This briefing, unfortunately, left me with more questions than answers. While it was a start, it is still not enough."

Tenney also called for a full public hearing, urging greater transparency, adding that it "was a start, it is still not enough. Rob Malley works for the American people, and he needs to answer to them as well."

"That's why I'm continuing to press for a full, public hearing. On a matter as important to our national security as a nuclear Iran, maximum transparency is the only path forward."

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Senator Bob Menendez shared Tenney's concerns during a briefing at the Senate, which included the top Middle East official on the National Security Council, Brett McGurk.

Members pressured Malley to clarify the administration's efforts to return to the agreement in light of many questions raised by Menendez.

Earlier this week, Malley spoke with congressional staffers and left them feeling that the next few weeks will determine if the deal lasts or dies, two congressional sources told CNN.

"I have been cautiously optimistic about the Biden administration's initial efforts," said Menendez.

"However, a year later, I have yet to hear any parameters of 'longer' or 'stronger' terms or whether that is even a feasible prospect."

Menendez said it's still "possible" for the US to agree with Iran, but "it's increasingly difficult, cause the window is closing, closing rapidly."

In turn, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said after leaving the closed session that it was a "sobering and shocking briefing," saying that Iran is "weeks away from a nuclear weapon, once they decide to get it, that time is getting smaller, not bigger."



Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu as Opposition Moves to Dissolve Parliament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu as Opposition Moves to Dissolve Parliament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. (Reuters)

A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas on southern Israel in October 2023.

United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalizing an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed.

"This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis.

A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favor of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed.

With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months.

A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing.

Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11.

BETTING ON A BLUFF

The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service.

Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties.

Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticized Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign.

He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand.

Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election.

In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable.

Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term.

He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release.

But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated.

Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition.