The Nevada Democrat said he has been “somewhat gingerly approaching this…. No longer. There is a civil war going on in Iraq. In the last two months, more than 6,000 Iraqis have been killed.

The secretary-general blamed Hezbollah for triggering the crisis and accused it of holding Lebanon hostage with its campaign against Israel.

Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing about reports that Iranians witnessed the July 4 tests, Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, replied: “Yes, that is my understanding” and it is “absolutely correct” that the relationship is worrisome.