U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said Congress should use the threat of a government shutdown to force the White House to disclose "secret side deals" in the Iranian nuclear agreement.

The Republican 2016 presidential candidate said on September 22 that the GOP-led Congress should fund the government after the end of the fiscal year on September 30 only if the administration discloses the details of side agreements governing the inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities.

Cruz said it would be President Barack Obama, not him, who would force a government shutdown if the president refused to comply with the demand.

The White House has said it does not have the documents Cruz wants. Iran and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency negotiated a framework for inspection of sensitive military sites that the UN agency insists must be kept confidential.

Cruz and his allies in Congress have tried in the past to use must-pass spending bills, like the one coming due on October 1, as vehicles to kill Obama's landmark health-care program. The strategy has failed, but it has caused temporary government shutdowns.

By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty