President Biden is facing a humiliating foreign policy setback as the $6 billion he used to secure the release of five imprisoned Americans from Iran could be frozen.
Lawmakers, including members of Biden's own party, voted Thursday to approve a bill that would permanently freeze the funds, which were unblocked by the White House in September as part of a controversial deal.
The bill, called the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, passed by a vote of 307 to 119 — with approval by nearly all Republicans and 90 Democrats.
The legislation would prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from accessing the funds through sanctions and now heads to the Senate.
It comes as Republicans have put pressure on the White House to reverse the release of the $6 billion in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks, in which Iran was one of the country's top supporters. the terrorist group.
President Biden, pictured in the Oval Office on Thursday, could see the $6 billion he used in a deal with Iran frozen by Congress in an international relations setback
The money was used by the White House in September as leverage to release five American citizens imprisoned in Iran, in months of negotiations that could now be undermined.
Congressman Michael McCaul introduced legislation, which passed the House of Representatives on Thursday, to freeze the funds. He is pictured Wednesday with the father of a Hamas hostage speaking to relatives of those held by the terrorist group.
The prisoners-for-cash deal sparked controversy in September because it coincided with the anniversary of September 11, when five hostages were freed after the money was transferred to Qatar, which acted as an intermediary for the funds.
The US citizens held in the country were accused of spying on behalf of the US government in Iran, and five Iranian citizens held in the US were also released as part of the deal.
The deal had been in the works for months and was highly anticipated, but Republicans reacted furiously: Donald Trump said the money would pay for terrorism and called Biden an “incompetent fool,” and Ron DeSantis accused Biden of “selling out to America. '
After Hamas's brutal attack, which killed 1,400 people and took another 240 hostage, Biden temporarily halted the funds, a move that critics say did not go far enough.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Michael McCaul, who introduced Thursday's bill, said after his bill passed the House of Representatives, “If they don't do it, we will.”
“Congress will prevent this money from going to Iran, not just for politics, not even for the American people, but for the victims of terrorism around the world, especially the people of Israel,” he added.
In response, senior Democrat on the committee Congressman Gregory Meeks, an opponent of the bill, argued that “not even a cent” of the unfrozen funds had been spent by Iran.
The possible freeze of funds was also seen by critics as a threat to ongoing negotiations to release more hostages captured by Hamas, as it would be seen as a sudden reversal of a deal agreed more than two months ago.
While dozens of Hamas hostages have been released amid a tenuous grip on the conflict with Israel, the terror group said Thursday that around 100 people remain in captivity.
“Supporting this legislation will shoot America's global credibility in the foot,” Meeks added.
Republicans have increased pressure on the White House to halt the $6 billion deal after the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7, as Iran is seen as one of the terrorist group's main supporters. Pictured: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on November 11
Family members hug freed Americans Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi after they were released from Iran under the swap deal on September 19
The September prisoner exchange sparked controversy around Washington because it came amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran as the two countries also deadlocked over nuclear talks.
Republicans reacted angrily to the deal, with many seeing it as funding Iran's support for Hamas in its conflict with Israel.
Several Republicans running to succeed Biden in the White House spoke out after the hostages were returned to the US, as Trump said he never paid to release hostages, adding: 'This incompetent FOOL is absolutely destroying America. He had the audacity to announce this terrible deal today, September 11.”
His Republican rival for president, DeSantis, said: “This deal funds nuclear ambitions, hostage takers and extremists who hate America.”
McCaul expressed support for the hostages' release but said he was “deeply concerned” about the deal and called the timing of the announcement “particularly egregious.”
“I remain deeply concerned that the Administration's decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America's adversaries to act in the future.” hostage taking,” he said.