The administration had claimed the events were separate, but the administration recently acknowledged the cash was used as leverage until the Americans were allowed to leave Iran. Republican members have characterized it as “ransom” for USA prisoners released the same day, and they called for more transparency and congressional supervision over the Treasury Department’s judgment fund. The first, consisting of $400 million, was sent on January 17, 2016. That law specifically provided that “no funds shall be paid to Iran. from the Foreign Military Sales Fund, until [such claims] have been dealt with to the satisfaction of the United States”.
Advertisement
“As we announced at the beginning of this year and was widely reported at the time, the United States in January agreed to pay Iran $1.7 billion to settle a long-standing legal claim at the Hague”, Selak said.
Rep. Ann Wagner said Thursday that she believes a $1.7 billion debt settlement with Iran further endangered her U.S. Army Ranger son and all members of the military and diplomatic corps who serve overseas.
Take the Bible Quiz now! .
A House hearing on a US cash payment to Iran turned into a heated political skirmish Thursday as a Republican congressman compared the payment to a “drug drop” by the Obama administration and the panel’s top Democrat led a walkout in protest of the “fiasco”.
Philippine leader’s anti-Obama outburst complicates USA goals.
We now know these are lies. The money was flown in a plane to Iran on wooden pallets stacked with various currencies to resolve a dispute between the two countries stemming from a failed arms deal made before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that toppled the Shah.
The Obama administration also could not guarantee lawmakers that the money would not be spent by Iran to fund terror operations.
And what does Obama do?
Looking back, Tonor said the Obama administration acted with an “overabundance of caution with regard to the confidentiality of these financial transactions”.
Summary⎙ Print While Washington’s $1.7 billion payment to Iran caused controversy in the USA, it was a non-story in Iran. “There are a number of litigations and diplomatic sensitivities that could jeopardize USA interests if we were to go into too much detail”. They include awards relating to the bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983; the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996; and the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in 1998.
Critics, including some in Congress, have attacked the payments as ransom. “With bags of untraceable hard currency, Iran can more easily support its allies or illicitly procure missile and nuclear parts”.
There are no Democratic co-sponsors on the Rubio-Pompeo legislation. In Syria, Iran is supporting the regime of Bashir al Assad, against western backed rebels.
Advertisement
It’s a misdirection. And as Congress returns from its recess, it’s time to focus on two key questions the administration has been refusing to answer ever since the beginning of the year: How was the payment calculated, and was it really due?
