The State Department announced the payment on January 17, saying that it was part of a decades-long legal dispute surrounding compensation for an arms deal that was subsequently revoked after Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was ousted from power during the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
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Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) will introduce new legislation that would prohibit the Obama administration from moving forward with all payments to Iran, according to the bill, which would also force Iran to return billions of dollars in us funds that have already been delivered to Tehran by the White House.
Last month president Obama rejected claims that the $400 million payment in January amounted to ransom, telling reporters that the deal had been openly disclosed by his administration at the time they were made and “wasn’t some nefarious deal”. Iran asked for immediate payment to address dire economic concerns brought on by financial sanctions, and the US transferred the funds to a representative of Iran’s central bank.
Clearly frustrated, Duffy frequently cut off witnesses while inquiring whether they could guarantee funds were not used for terrorism – and whether American hostages would have been released had the money not been paid.
Meanwhile, following the briefing session, US Treasury Department spokeswoman Dawn Selak issued a statement, saying that making the payment in cash was important because of the “effectiveness of US and worldwide sanctions” imposed on the Middle Eastern nation. The aide was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
The $1.3 billion came from a fund administered by the Treasury Department for settling litigation claims. The so-called Judgment Fund is taxpayer money Congress has permanently approved in the event it’s needed, allowing the president to bypass direct congressional approval to make a settlement.
Lawmakers are concerned that Iran would fund the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Houthi militias in Yemen, or other allies in the Middle East against USA interests.
Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation Tuesday to bar such payments to Iran in the future and reclaim the $1.7 billion the USA has paid, distributing it to victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen.
It’s sure to stoke more criticism from Republicans, who had already sharply denounced the $400 million transfer as “ransom”.
Not everyone has believed the White House’s statements, however.
There are no Democratic co-sponsors on the Rubio-Pompeo legislation.
Republicans have also latched on to the payment to cast additional doubts about the nuclear agreement with Iran signed previous year. Sen. Republicans have strongly opposed the pact since it was struck last summer, though they were unsuccessful in blocking its implementation.
Sen. Johnny Isakson from Georgia lambasted Obama for the ransom, saying that its “reckless” behavior has endangered and will continue to endanger American citizens while weakening national security.
RON ALLEN: Under pressure, the administration admitted that it spent some $400 million, using that money as leverage to help free four Americans who were being held in Iran.
Other members of South Carolina’s Republican delegation in Congress also used some of their time back on Capitol Hill to protest the issue.
ALLEN: The administration insists some of the details must be kept secret and that it had to use cash because of sanctions against Iran. “He wanted a deal done with Iran”.
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Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi, culture minister when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was president, also reiterated the claim that the $1.7 billion was given to Iran in exchange for the release of prisoners during a live television debate with Rouhani’s media adviser, Hesam al-Din Ashna. “We don’t want to facilitate that”.
