John Kerry: Some of Iran's Released Funds May Be Used for Terrorism

The U.S. Secretary of State stated that it cannot be ruled out that some of the funds released to Iran after the lifting of sanctions could be used for "terrorism." This possibility has been a major argument against the Vienna nuclear agreement and the lifting of sanctions on Iran. John Kerry, during an interview with NBC on Thursday, February 20, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, responded to a question on this matter by saying: "I believe some of the money resulting from the lifting of sanctions will reach the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or other entities, some of which are described as terrorist organizations, and I cannot tell you that it is completely possible to prevent that, but what I can tell you now is that we still have no evidence that the released funds are being used for such purposes." It is still unclear exactly how much of Iran's blocked funds will be released, but opponents of the nuclear agreement, such as Republicans in the U.S. and the governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia, argue that the lifting of sanctions and the Iranian government's access to billions of dollars will enable the Islamic Republic to allocate part of it to "terrorism." Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's Central Bank, announced that the blocked financial resources of Iran that will be released after the lifting of sanctions amount to "32 billion dollars," of which "28 billion is related to the Central Bank." Kerry further added in his interview on Thursday that many critics of the nuclear agreement with Iran "exaggerate" the amount of money that Iran will receive with the lifting of sanctions. He said: "The amount they estimate to be 100 to 150 billion dollars is not correct; rather, 55 billion dollars is a more accurate figure, as a large portion of that will be used to repay Iran's foreign debts." Kerry emphasized that in addition to this, Iran currently needs more than 500 billion dollars to rebuild its economic and infrastructural foundations and must spend at least 100 billion dollars to modernize its energy sector. Kerry also responded to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's criticism of U.S. policy on sanctions, stating that such penalties against Iran or other countries are "imposed with discernment and prudence and will continue to be used effectively in the future." The U.S. Secretary of State added: "We have made it very clear that we will use sanctions against those who we believe are violating the law or challenging the United Nations Security Council or threatening the U.S." The Iranian Foreign Minister, on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, referred to the new sanctions imposed by the U.S. on several Iranian legal and natural persons in response to the "Emad" missile test, accusing Washington of "illegal" behavior and "bullying and addiction to sanctions."