Obama Administration Paid Iran $1.7 Billion in Cash

Source: Weekly Standard | September 7, 2016 | Jenna Lifhits

Finally, the details come out about the Iran deal payment.

The United States paid Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year, most of which was taxpayer money, around the same time that the Islamic Republic released several American prisoners, as first reported by the Associated Press.

Administration officials have rejected charges that the payment was for ransom, and have said that the money, of which $400 million was an initial payment and $1.3 billion was accrued interest, represents a settlement for a decades-old arms deal gone awry.

Treasury Department spokesperson Dawn Selak told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Tuesday that successful sanctions on Iran forced the United States to pay the sum in cash.

“The form of those principal and interest payments – made in non-U.S. currency, in cash – was necessitated by the effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions regimes over the last several years in isolating Iran from the international financial system,” Selak said in a statement.

White House and State Department officials have for weeks refused to disclose details about the payment, including its method and timing. On Tuesday, State, Treasury, and Justice Department officials informed congressional staff that the remaining $1.3 billion was also paid in cash installments, on January 22 and February 5, the AP reported.

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