In a rare reversal from his earlier stance, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Friday acknowledged that he did not see the secret footage of transfer of $400 million to Iran as ransom for the release of U.S. prisoners.
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Trump and co. are now claiming that a $400 million cash payment the United States sent to Iran earlier this year to settle a decadeslong financial dispute was actually a ransom payment for American hostages released earlier this year.
Critics of the Obama administration have said a $400 million payment in cash to Iran amounted to a ransom in exchange for the freeing of American prisoners in January, but President Barack Obama has defended the payment as a release of frozen funds that followed an worldwide nuclear agreement with Iran.
Saeed Abedini was one of the four American hostages released by the Iranian government in January. The administration. meanwhile, insists that the payment was money the USA legally owed Iran. A documentary aired on Iranian television several months ago claims to show video of the pallets of money delivered to the country.
Supporters reach out to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Green Bay, Wis. After these responses to his statements and denials from his own campaign administration that the video even exists, Trump backpedaled on his initial assertions. As it turned out, however, they waited at the airport for an entire night, forced to sleep at the location just waiting for the arrival of the “other plane”. Given the scene was shot in Geneva – as Trump now admits it was – it’s very unlikely the tape came from Iran.
“I may have short circuited and for that I will try to clarify”, Clinton said, though still insisting she “never sent or received anything that was marked classified”. Because you know, they have all the camera equipment outside taking pictures of the stuff coming off the plane, ‘ Trump said.
“They have a flawless tape, obviously done by a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane”, Trump continued.
“You saw that with the airplane coming in”.
Donald Trump holds up a Purple Heart during a campaign event.
Obama said in remarks on Thursday that the Iran deal is working and that “it’s the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community … that acknowledges this has been a game-changer”.
The US paid that money to Tehran in January, in a publicly announced settlement of a decades-old worldwide arbitration case dating back to when Iranians paid Washington for military equipment they never received. However, the WSJ claims President Obama sidestepped restrictions on banking with Iran by delivering the cash aboard an unmarked airplane. You know, the paparazzi doesn’t do so well over there, right? He said the video was purposely released by the Iranians to “embarrass our country and … our president”.
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President Barack Obama wants to make it clear that a $400 million payment to Iran wasn’t for ransom.
