US Congress Proposal to Force Obama Administration to Disclose $1.7 Billion 'Deal' with Iran

The news site 'Free Beacon' reports, based on a copy of a proposed bill in the US Congress and discussions with lawmakers, that the House of Representatives is seeking to pass a measure that would require the Barack Obama administration to disclose the details of an agreement with the Islamic Republic for the release of 10 American sailors who were detained by Iran last year. According to Free Beacon, if this bill is passed, the White House will have to explain whether it paid $1.7 billion of government funds as a 'bribe' to Iran for the release of these sailors. This bill was proposed by Republican House member Mike Pompeo and Republican Senator John Cornyn, using information previously published by Free Beacon regarding the Obama administration's efforts to keep the details and manner of the sailors' release secret. The bill, titled 'No Immunity for Iranian Maritime Aggression,' suggests that Washington impose new sanctions on Iran for violating the Geneva Convention regarding the detention of American military personnel by the Islamic Republic. A group of American lawmakers and others have speculated for months that the US government may have paid money to the Iranian government to ensure the release of the detained sailors and other American prisoners in Iran, but the Obama administration has consistently emphasized that the freedom of these individuals was unrelated to financial agreements between the two countries. The new congressional bill requires the White House to clarify any connection between the release of American prisoners and the payment of money from government funds to Iran, including the $1.7 billion that was paid in January of this year. The bill states that this amount was paid just a few days after several American citizens were released from Iranian prisons. The Free Beacon website adds that this bill will also require the US government to determine whether Iran's treatment of the American sailors, including filming them crying and apologizing, violated the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. If it is determined that the Islamic Republic's treatment of the sailors violated these international regulations, the bill will require the US government to impose sanctions by identifying each Iranian official and agent involved in this incident. Mike Pompeo, a member of the House Security Committee, told Free Beacon on Tuesday, June 1, that the White House continues to keep the details of the detention and release of the American sailors secret. He stated, 'Since the sailors' release, the government has only apologized instead of investigating Iran's violation of the Geneva Convention, and has dismissed one naval officer. No criticism has been made of the Iranian government's behavior, and no explanation has been given regarding forcing the sailors to kneel and confess in front of the camera, which is unacceptable behavior from President Obama towards the US Navy personnel.' He added that the goal of the bill is to ensure that if the Iranian government committed an offense, it is punished: 'The Obama administration cannot simply rely on its completely flawed nuclear agreement with the Iranian government and hope that provocative incidents like this will be forgotten. The security of American citizens and military personnel is very important.' Randy Forbes, another Republican member of the House, also recently told Free Beacon that the US government is not making the confidential information related to this incident public. According to him, it may take another year for this information to be disclosed. Mr. Forbes added, 'When these details are revealed, most Americans will be shocked by the behavior of the Iranian government and the Obama administration in this regard. For this reason, I have encouraged members of Congress to demand the details of this incident from the government so that we all know exactly what happened.' The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detained 9 male and 1 female American sailors in two US Navy patrol boats in the Persian Gulf last January due to their entry into Iranian waters and released them less than a day later. Both Iran and the US confirmed that these boats had mistakenly entered Iranian waters. Several international lawyers and senior US military commanders have stated that the detention of the sailors by Iran was a violation of international law.