Eli Lake & Josh Rogin, Columnists

Congress Alarmed by Iran Pact's Secret Understandings

Critics of the deal are wary of its side agreements.

Agreeing to the deal, and ... what else?

Photographer: Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images
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As the White House campaign to persuade Congress about the wisdom of its Iran nuclear deal moves into its second week, important components of the complex agreement are emerging that will be shrouded from the public and in some cases from the U.S. government itself.

The existence of these secret clauses and interpretations could undermine the public's trust in the Barack Obama administration's presentations about the nuclear pact. Already Republicans and other critics of the deal have seized on the side agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency as a weakness in the deal closed last week in Vienna.