Two American Senators: Obama Administration Should Explain Details of $400 Million Payment to Iran

Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, Republican senators, on Friday, August 12, requested in a letter to John Kerry, Secretary of State, Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury, and Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States, to explain the manner of the $400 million payment to Iran. According to 'The Hill', the letter states: 'The unusual conditions surrounding the payment of $400 million to Iran have raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of such a payment, as well as questions about its legality.' The letter emphasizes that if the government has violated the law, Congress and the public must be informed so that the responsible officials can be prosecuted and serious steps can be taken to prevent such actions in the future. The two Republican senators noted that since Iran is on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, it remains under related sanctions, which are unrelated to the nuclear sanctions that have been lifted. The American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported the day before that the Obama administration sent $400 million in cash to Tehran on the same day that Iranian-American prisoners were released from Iranian jails. This money was delivered to Iran in euros, Swiss francs, and other currencies. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have asked Obama administration officials to respond to the questions raised in this letter regarding the $400 million payment to Iran by August 22. Republican critics of the Obama administration have strongly criticized this action in recent weeks, considering it a ransom payment to Iran, 'the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism,' in exchange for the release of American prisoners. Donald Trump, the presidential candidate, and Republican representatives have repeatedly criticized the payment of $400 million to Iran last week. In contrast, the U.S. Secretary of State and the Iranian Foreign Ministry have denied any connection between the payment and the issue of the release of American prisoners in Iran, calling the timing of these actions in relation to the Vienna nuclear agreement coincidental. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has also stated that this matter is not a secret and that following the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding Iran's frozen assets, lawyers and legal advisors recommended that this money be paid, or else billions of dollars in damages would need to be paid to Iran in the future. This $400 million is part of the $1.7 billion related to the repayment of suspended arms contracts after the revolution and the profits accrued from it over the years.