The Biden administration has opted to continue a sanctions waiver for Iran, enabling Tehran to access $10 billion in previously frozen assets.
These funds, accumulated from electricity exports, have been unlocked for another four months, as per a report by The Washington Free Beacon. Critics argue that this move, seen as part of a broader approach to mollify Iran and deter its hostility, has not yielded the intended outcomes.
“Leave it to the Biden administration to be giving access to $10 billion to an Islamist regime that recently killed three American soldiers, maimed dozens more, has shut down shipping in the Red Sea, is barreling ahead with its nuclear weapons program and is attacking Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
“The Biden administration keeps giving billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic in the hope that it will buy better behavior. It only encourages much greater aggression,” Dubowitz said. “When will they learn?”
This waiver continuation, initially established in 2018 to enable Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran without direct cash payments and with the stipulation that the funds be used solely for humanitarian purposes, has been adapted. In 2023, the administration permitted these funds to be moved to an Omani bank for Iran’s use, raising concerns about their potential non-humanitarian deployment.
“This is not the same waiver for Iraqi electricity imports that has been issued since 2018,” Richard Goldberg, senior advisor at FDD, stated. “This is an Iran sanctions relief waiver that allows Tehran to access money and use it for budget support, including debt payments and import subsidies. That was not allowed prior to last summer.”
Several Republican lawmakers have formally questioned this policy’s continuation in light of Iran’s aggressive actions, seeking clarity on the reasoning behind the waiver and the extent of Iran’s direct financial benefits since its implementation.
Iran’s involvement in funding over a dozen terror groups and its role in recent violence, including an attack killing three U.S. troops, underscores the contentious nature of this financial concession. The Biden administration’s broader pattern of easing sanctions and making concessions, such as a $6 billion payment for the release of American prisoners, has intensified scrutiny of its Iran strategy.
The post Biden Allows Access to $10 Billion in Frozen Iranian Assets appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Nicholas Dolinger
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