Republicans have sought to link $6 billion in unfrozen Iranian funds to the weekend attacks on Israeli civilians.
Biden administration officials are taking to the airwaves to defend a transfer of frozen assets to Iran, as the administration’s critics seek to draw a connection between an unprecedented surprise attack against Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the terms of a prisoner swap with Iran announced last month.
Since Hamas fighters launched their assault against Israel on Saturday, senior Biden administration officials have tried to throw water on reports that Iran was directly tied to the attacks and rebut allegations that the Biden administration enabled them by unfreezing $6 billion dollars’ worth of frozen Iranian assets as part of an agreement to release six American citizens from Iranian custody.
The Biden administration defended the unfreezing of the assets, saying that the money was Tehran’s to begin with, the profits of oil sales to South Korea that experienced currency conversion challenges during a period under the Trump administration when sanctions against Tehran were relaxed. They have also maintained that the U.S. is closely monitoring spending in the account where the money is being held, and that Iran could use that money only for humanitarian purposes, such as purchasing food and medicine for its people.
Detractors, mainly Republicans, had argued that the money is fungible, and that while those specific funds will not be spent on supporting terrorism around the world, the unfrozen assets allow Iran to spend more money on Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi rebels and other Tehran-friendly proxies. They also pointed to remarks by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who told NBC’s Lester Holt in September that the money “belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money.”
Those criticisms gained new traction in the wake of the Hamas militants’ attacks, given Iran’s historical support for the group, which has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and other governments.
