Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led 19 Senate Republicans in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to freeze a recent $6 billion ransom payment to Iran amid Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Last month, as part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iran, the U.S. transferred $6 billion in Iranian oil assets that were held in a restricted account in South Korea for the release of five Americans who were wrongfully detained.
Blackburn and her colleagues are now calling on the Biden Administration to “immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds.”
President Biden is refusing to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment to Iran because he is afraid to admit it was a catalyst for the attacks.
He still has time to limit the damage. Enough politics.@POTUS — freeze the $6 billion now.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 9, 2023
“To stand by and allow Iran access to these funds as Hamas infiltrates Israel and murders, rapes, and mutilates countless Israelis is unconscionable. Your administration claims these funds are only available for humanitarian use, but money is fungible, and there is a significant risk they could be used to further efforts by Iran or Hamas against Israel,” Blackburn’s letter reads. “Moreover, allowing $6 billion to flow into Iran’s economy, even if the purpose is for humanitarian aid, allows the Iranian regime to reallocate even more funds to supporting terrorism. Oversight over the use of this $6 billion is not enough, and the oversight mechanism is crippled by your reported decision to pull the longstanding Treasury attaché from Qatar.”
“We must stand with Israel and restrict access to these Iranian funds. Iran should be placed under the most stringent sanctions admissible. Anything short of this is unacceptable and only aids in the ability of Iran and Hamas to fund these heinous acts,” the letter concludes.
In a video statement, Blackburn said proving Iran with $6 billion right now is “completely inappropriate,” citing reports that Iran is working with Hamas to “structure” the attack on Israel.
“This attack didn’t happen overnight. This is something that had been in the planning for quite a period of time and, what we have heard, is that the release of the $6 billion is something that emboldened Iran to move forward and take this action,” Blackburn added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
I would like to see Blackburn demand the border be closed, else she may well be answering as to why if terrorist attacks occur from those got aways and deliberately released into the U.S. Lets focus on America first and the danger our faux representatives sell, then perhaps we can assist Ukraine and Israel, but not a cent until the border is locked down and mass deportations are well under way.
Why “must” we stand with Israel? Because wealthy Jewish “Americans” paid televangelists to sell the myth that Jews are the “Chosen People”?
Thank you, Senator. Yes, the $6,000,000,000 must not only be frozen, but it should also be rescinded. This was a ransom payment; the US should never concede to ransom demands as it makes everyone a potential kidnap victim. While in the Air Force, mid 1970s, we were told the US would not negotiate for our release if the terms discussed would enrich others. At first, we recoiled at the news but then came to realize there was no gain for the other side for the kidnapping. This giving Iran money was a Barry Obama initiative back in his term for no other reason than to make him better liked by the Iranians. This $6 billion Biden (or Obama) promise needs to be cancelled. Let’s go Biden and same to sentiments to Iran.