Biden faces growing pressure to freeze $6 billion in Iran ‘ransom’ money again as White House says country is ‘complicit’ in deadly Hamas attack on Israel
- Biden struck a deal with Iran last month to transfer funds, freeing 5 American hostages
- GOP senators want to freeze Iranian funds back in place
- The White House says there is “complicity” because of Iran’s support for Hamas
President Joe Biden is facing pressure from Republican senators to reimpose a $6 billion freeze on Iranian funds after Hamas’s brutal terror attack on Israel this weekend.
The Iranian regime had access to the money as part of a recent deal that freed American hostages, and the funds were supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes.
But Republicans say it could allow Tehran to “reallocate” resources to finance further terror attacks.
Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza on Tuesday, following a coordinated attack on Saturday that killed more than 900 Israelis and raised immediate suspicion of foreign support.
Israel is preparing a possible ground invasion in response to the attacks.
GOP senators call on President Joe Biden to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds over concern they could be used to finance Hamas terror operations
“To stand by and allow Iran access to these funds as Hamas infiltrates Israel and murders, rapes and maims countless Israelis is unconscionable,” 20 Republican Senators He wrote Biden on Monday.
“Your government claims that these funds are only available for humanitarian use, but the money is fungible and there is a significant risk that it will be used to further Iran’s or Hamas’ efforts against Israel.”
Allowing the funds to flow into Iran’s economy “allows the Iranian regime to redistribute even more funds to support terrorism,” they added, saying oversight of the funds “is not enough.”
White House says there is ‘complicity’ over Iran’s support for Hamas, but says there are facts to prove Saturday’s operation
The letter is signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (RN.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), as well as Minority Whip Sen. John Thune (RS.D.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
They are demanding the administration rescind exemptions that allowed funding to flow to Qatar as part of a deal that freed five Americans held in Iran.
The deal was completed last month. After Hamas attacked Israel, the Biden administration was forced to explain that the funding, which was already controversial, had not yet been released.
The letter is signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (RN.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), as well as Minority Whip Sen. John Thune (RS.D.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In public comments this week, the administration walked a fine line — saying it had no information indicating Iran’s support for the attack, while acknowledging its past support for Hamas and terrorist groups.
“There is a degree of complicity here, but Iran has been supporting Hamas for many, many years – tools, training, capabilities – certainly rhetorically, but in much more tangible ways than that,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. ‘So, definitely, there is a degree of complicity here writ large.’
“We said, we haven’t – and we’re looking at the information flows. We have seen no hard, tangible evidence that Iran was directly involved in participating or in providing the resources and planning for these complex attacks that Hamas carried out over the weekend,” he said.
He said the administration “will continue to look into it. Our Israeli counterparts are also actively looking, and even they have publicly stated that they don’t see the quote, unquote smoking gun.”
Kirby and other officials declined to confirm a Wall Street Journal story that Iran helped plan the attack and gave the go-ahead during a meeting in Beirut last Monday.
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