Chris Coons: “I thank the Senator from Virginia. We had a terrific experience traveling together to Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and…”

“I thank the Senator from Virginia. We had a terrific experience traveling together to Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Vienna. In Vienna, we met with the leadership of the IAEA. We asked tough questions and learned more about their needs and plans for thoroughly inspecting every aspect of Iran's nuclear program. We heard about the concerns of our close regional allies in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. We need to strengthen our partnership with regional allies who are uncertain about the future with ISIS but who were, frankly, grateful for the increased intelligence partnerships between the United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, but most importantly with our vital ally Israel, as the good Senator from Virginia has recounted. We heard from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, opposition leadership, and intelligence and defense community leaders that the partnership with the United States is stronger than it has ever been and that they view this path forward with Iran as having challenges and opportunities-- opportunities in terms of intelligence to be gained, opportunities in terms of pushing back on what was a rapidly advancing Iranian nuclear infrastructure and program, and now a challenge--a challenge to work together and provide exactly the sort of oversight and engagement that only a duly-empowered and active Congress can take. Let me close out the colloquy of six Senators by making a few simple observations, if I might.…”