On Syria, the president criticized Russia’s support of government attacks against opposition forces and its sieges of cities such as Aleppo. “This wasn’t some nefarious deal”, Obama said at a press conference at the Pentagon.
Advertisement
He said the USA will continue to try to cooperate with Russian Federation to reduce the violence and focus the fight on the Islamic State group and other extremists.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Obama administration secretly orchestrated an airlift of $400 million in cash to Iran in January when four Americans were released from Iranian custody.
In its Wednesday story, the Journal quotes President Obama as saying “the time was right to resolve this dispute as well”, also saying that he neglected to mention the cash transaction. “It wasn’t a secret. We were completely open about it”, he said.
According to a new report, Senior U.S. Department of Justice officials not only knew about the $400 million payout from the U.S. government to Iran – they warned against it. The equipment was never provided, Earnest said, because the shah was overthrown. “We announced them to all of you”.
“The fact of the matter is the United States does not have a banking relationship with Iran”, he said. Not really. People on both sides of the isle are furious that it looks like Obama paid a ransom to Iran of all places.
Following reports of Iran requesting cash during negotiations with the United States, Mr. Obama was accused of using the $1.7 billion deal as ransom, accusations that he repeatedly denied.
The United States has also agreed to pay $1.3 billion in interest on the $400 million.
Lankford said Iran had used the money to expand its military, but Earnest said, “We know that they used this money to invest in infrastructure, to try to pay off their economic debts that they were saddled with and to try to shore up the value of their plummeting currency”.
The funds were part of a trust fund Iran used before its 1979 Islamic Revolution to buy US military equipment that was tied up for decades in litigation at the tribunal.
“Whatever the administration may claim, it is clear that this payment was a ransom for Americans held hostage in Iran”, said McCain, who dubbed the payment “reckless and foolish”. Diplomatic relations were subsequently severed although the two countries did agree to set up the tribunal to rule on claims from both nations.
Advertisement
By settling the claim, it saved USA taxpayers potentially billions of dollars in further interest payments, Kerry added. Obama said he didn’t predict a widespread outbreak of the virus, but he said the “situation is getting critical” in the US.
