(Amends word order in paragraph 1)
By Timour Azhari
RIYADH, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said the US Department of Defense denied him access to a key US military base in Qatar during a visit to the Middle East, describing it as part of a US government effort to conceal the impact of the Iran war.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Al Udeid Air Base is the largest US base in the region and has repeatedly been attacked by Iran during the war launched by the US and Israel in February.
“This trip confirmed for me that there is an active, unprecedented, unconstitutional effort underway to hide the costs of this war and the implications of this war from Congress and the American people,” Murphy told a small group of journalists in Riyadh, the second stop on his trip.
He also said that the Pentagon refused to set up a briefing for him on the war while he was in the region.
“I’ve never encountered anything like this in my time in the Senate and it’s part of a deliberate campaign of obfuscation that my Republican colleagues in Congress should demand an end to,” he said.
Murphy made clear, however, that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had facilitated his visit, including arranging meetings with diplomats, a stance he contrasted with that of the Pentagon.
During his trip, Murphy met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as other senior Gulf officials.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari in Riyadh; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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