WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on Tuesday at a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the State Department’s FY 2023 budget request. Murphy pushed back on critics of the Iran deal and highlighted the failures of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign. A vocal proponent of withholding security assistance on the basis of human rights concerns, Murphy questioned the State Department’s request to delink human rights conditions from military aid to Egypt. After returning from Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo this week, he also highlighted strategic opportunities in the Balkans to reduce Russian influence in the region.

On securing a new nuclear agreement with Iran, Murphy said: “I do not share my colleagues’ skepticism of a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran, in part because the whole world has watched how difficult it is to craft a Western response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine given Russia's status as a nuclear power. And I simply cannot imagine why we would wish for a policy that will allow Iran to be weeks, maybe months away from a nuclear weapon given all of their malevolent activity in the Middle East. What about the last two months has been an advertisement that we will be better off if more of our adversaries had nuclear weapons?”

On the State Department’s request to delink human rights conditions from military aid to Egypt, Murphy said: “The assault on Ukrainian democracy, I think has elevated the need for us to be incredibly consistent between our words and our actions on supporting human rights and democracy. You and I have had a number of conversations about the pace of reform in Egypt, a country that enjoys more direct U.S. military support than almost any other in the world prior to the war in Ukraine. Buried inside your budget request is a curious proposal that is a proposal to delink human rights conditions from military aid to Egypt.”

Murphy continued: “I worry about the message that this would send to Sisi but also the world. They have made tepid progress, even when presented with fairly minimalist requests for reforms. And I wonder why this would be a moment that the administration would be asking to separate the money we send to Egypt for military support from our human rights requests, and our human rights work in Egypt.”

On his recent trip to the Balkans, Murphy said: “Senator Shaheen, Tillis, and I are just back from a trip to the Balkans. I think Assistant Secretary Donfried is there this week.  Tremendous opportunities [exist] in the Balkans to try to shift alliances and allegiances there. Bosnia is a place where there is a rapid deterioration of the security situation. We have to pay close attention there, but [there are] many opportunities around Russia's periphery to convince folks that it's time for them to stop sitting on two chairs.”

Last week, Murphy and U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) traveled to the Western Balkans and Brussels. During their visit, the senators met with members of the respective countries’ governments, members of civil society and members of the press to address numerous issues, including support for the region amid Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, anti-corruption efforts, democratic reforms, youth engagement, safeguarding freedom of the press and more.

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Secretary Blinken:

MURPHY: “I do not share my colleagues’ skepticism of a renewed nuclear agreement with Iran, in part because the whole world has watched how difficult it is to craft a Western response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine given Russia's status as a nuclear power. And I simply cannot imagine why we would wish for a policy that will allow Iran to be weeks, maybe months away from a nuclear weapon given all of their malevolent activity in the Middle East.

“What about the last two months has been an advertisement that we will be better off if more of our adversaries had nuclear weapons?

“And I appreciate the clarification you made to Senator Romney's question. Because it is true, we have tried the alternative. We have indeed attempted to apply significant costs on the Iranian economy and through President Trump's maximum pressure campaign. And in fact, the result was not that Iran came to the table on all of their other behaviors in the region. It was not that they held firm on the commitments that they had made in the JCPOA. It was in fact that they moved faster towards a potential nuclear weapon, they accelerated their research program.

“And so I want to maybe ask you one more sort of question to level set where we are today. You have stated, I think, very effectively, that the maximum pressure campaign did not in fact, have the effect of constraining Iran's nuclear weapons program. But for my colleagues that have significant concerns, rightly so, about Iran's support for terrorist organizations, for regional proxies, money they put into their ballistic missile program, is there any evidence that during the period of time in which we have been out of the nuclear agreement, during the period of time in which we have applied these significant sanctions, including sanctions on the IRGC, that Iran has lessened their support for terrorist organizations or proxy organizations or lessened the amount of money that they put into their ballistic missile program?”

BLINKEN: “Senator, to the contrary. No. What we've seen is two things. First, during the period of time when the original agreement was being negotiated, go back to 2012, through its entry into force, and the time when the Trump administration pulled out 2018. 2012 to 2018, there were virtually no attacks on American presence in the Middle East.

“When we pulled out of the agreement, when we imposed the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation on the IRGC, and when Soleimani was killed, and no one is shedding any tears for his demise, but I'm just stating the facts. When those things happened, the attacks on our forces, on our personnel, on our people went up dramatically. In fact, from 2019 to 2020, they went up 400%. So we've seen that effect.

“Similarly, and it's an unfortunate fact of life that Iran is willing to dedicate what resources it has to supporting its military, to supporting its various tools of destabilization and terror, including the IRGC Quds Force, irrespective of what its revenues are from other sources. And so we've seen sustained support for those forces even during maximum pressure.

“Again, we share the same objectives. The question is, how do we most effectively reach those objectives? That's what we're concerned with.”

MURPHY: “Well, thank you for that response. And I think you will find many of us on this committee very supportive of your efforts to reenter that, that agreement.

“Let me turn to one other topic, and that is the topic of human rights. The assault on Ukrainian democracy, I think has elevated the need for us to be incredibly consistent between our words and our actions on supporting human rights and democracy.

“You and I have had a number of conversations about the pace of reform in Egypt, a country that enjoys more direct U.S. military support than almost any other in the world prior to the war in Ukraine. Buried inside your budget request is a curious proposal that is a proposal to delink human rights conditions from military aid to Egypt.

“I worry about the message that this would send to Sisi but also the world. They have made tepid progress, even when presented with fairly minimalist requests for reforms. And I wonder why this would be a moment that the administration would be asking to separate the money we send to Egypt for military support from our human rights requests, and our human rights work in Egypt.”

BLINKEN: “Senator first, I really appreciate your focus on human rights. Indeed, it's central to President Biden's foreign policy. And that applies across the world, including when it comes to Egypt. Let me just say quickly, a couple of things.

“First, Egypt is a vital partner for us. It's a vital partner in trying to sustain and advance stability in the Middle East, to combat terrorism. It played a critical role last year when tensions rose dramatically in Gaza. And it's played an important role now in trying to keep things in check as well. So in many ways, it's a vital partner. It's also an important economic partner for us.

“At the same time that does not divorce from our policy and our approach, the need to focus on human rights and the concerns that we have about the Egyptian approach when it comes to civil society, when it comes to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, political detentions, abuses etc.

“I have engaged President Al Sisi directly on this at some length, including the first meeting that that we had. We continue to meet and engage with human rights defenders, with civil society. Last year, we signed the Human Rights Council statement at the UN expressing our grave concerns for the first time since 2014. And we reprogrammed some of the foreign military financing this past year, because Egypt did not meet some of the objectives that we set out in terms of making progress on human rights. And that will continue to be the case going forward. It is however important to us to have maximum flexibility in being able to deal with this and deal with this effectively.

“I'd also say that going back to the conversation on Russia and Ukraine. This is a critical time too in the relationship with a number of countries, particularly countries that may be reconsidering their own relationships and potential dependencies on Russia.

“They're seeing how Russian military equipment is performing or not performing in Ukraine. They're seeing growing challenges to Russia being able to sustain and ultimately export its military equipment. They're making different decisions about the future. That presents a strategic opportunity for us. One we want to make sure that we also have flexibility to take advantage.

“But I completely share your focus on and concern about human rights, including in Egypt. It is, it will remain a central part of our policy even as we work to strengthen what is a vital partnership for us.”

MURPHY: “Well, very briefly, just count me amongst those who think it would be unwise at this moment to delink our human rights conditions from military aid. This is a country that still has more political arrests than Russia does. 60,000 people have been arrested for political crimes in Egypt. That's a stunning number.

“And as to your point, finally, about countries that are rethinking their traditional association with Russia, Senator Shaheen, Tillis, and I are just back from a trip to the Balkans. I think Assistant Secretary Donfried is there this week. Tremendous opportunities [exist] in the Balkans to try to shift alliances and allegiances there. Bosnia is a place where there is a rapid deterioration of the security situation. We have to pay close attention there, but [there are] many opportunities around Russia's periphery to convince folks that it's time for them to stop sitting on two chairs.”

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