There, a plane was waiting for him and other freed American prisoners, Abedini said. After that plane landed, the captives were allowed to leave.
Advertisement
Trump has made criticism of the United States delivery of $400 million in cash via a plane to Iran – the first installment of $1.7 billion in payments related to a decades-old dispute settled at the same time Iran released four American prisoners – a staple this week on the campaign trail.
Kaine said video of the cash payment to Iran doesn’t exist and is a “bogus video claim”. Critics have said the money was paid as ransom. “And he told me we are waiting for another plane, and if that plane takes off, then we’re going to let you go”, he said on Fox Business’ “The Intelligence Report with Trish Regan”. “What I will say is that they have been told these are classified briefings”, he added, in response to a question about whether he was concerned about Trump obtaining the classified information.
Under those circumstances, Regan asked Abedini if he thought the USA government paid a ransom for his freedom.
At a press conference Wednesday, a deputy spokesman for the State Department would not clarify the timeline for reporters.
“They have a ideal tape, obviously done by a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane”, Trump continued.
President Obama insists the transaction isn’t what it appears.
There was “significant litigation risk” as a result of the pending dues which could have cost the United States “billions of dollars”, he said, underlining that the U.S. does “not pay ransom for hostages”.
Obama said that the timing of the delivery was “dictated by the fact that as a outcome of us negotiating around the nuclear deal, we had diplomatic negotiations with Iran for the first time in several decades”.
Opponents of the deal from previous year should be challenged by reporters to say, “you know what, we were wrong”, Obama added, criticizing “the manufacturing of outrage” over stories tangential to the deal. “It wasn’t a secret. We were completely open with everyone again, and it’s interesting to me how this is becoming a story again”, Obama said. “The only bit of news is that we paid cash”.
“We could not send them a cheque”.
President Barack Obama wants to make it clear that a $400 million payment to Iran wasn’t for ransom.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Iranian sources have said the cash arrived the same day the prisoners were released.
Advertisement
If the terrorists see it as paying ransom and act accordingly, it becomes a distinction without a difference.
