The US government is not yet willing to draw a direct line between Iran and the shocking sneak attacks by Hamas militants on Israel outside the Gaza Strip, but President Joe Biden’s domestic political rivals are convinced.
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The US government is not yet willing to draw a direct line between Iran and the shocking sneak attacks by Hamas militants on Israel outside the Gaza Strip, but President Joe Biden’s domestic political rivals are convinced.
This is a domestic debate about Iran that will coincide with what could be a protracted war between Israel and Hamas.
Why did Trump say taxpayer dollars went to Iran?
Most of what Trump said is false. US taxpayer dollars did not go to Iran.
However, the Biden administration negotiated for the release in September of five Americans who had been held by Tehran. What bought their freedom was the release of $6 billion in Iranian funds – proceeds from the sale of its oil held in restricted South Korean accounts – frozen by international sanctions on Iran. Read more on the prisoner deal from CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim.
The deal stipulated that the money would have to be used for humanitarian purposes and that Qatar, which helped broker the deal, would hold the money rather than having it go straight to Iran.
$6 billion could have freed up money elsewhere
Critics, like Haley, have argued that if Iran got $6 billion for humanitarian purposes, that frees up money elsewhere.
“They go and spread terrorism every time they get one dollar,” Haley said.
