The Obama
administration is acknowledging its transfer of $1.7 billion to Iran
earlier this year was made entirely in cash, using non-U.S. currency, as
Republican critics of the transaction continued to denounce the
payments.
Treasury Department spokeswoman Dawn
Selak said in a statement late Tuesday that the cash payments were
necessary because of the "effectiveness of U.S. and international
sanctions," which isolated Iran from the international finance system.
The
$1.7 billion was the settlement of a decades-old arbitration claim
between the U.S. and Iran. An initial $400 million of euros, Swiss
francs and other foreign currency was delivered on pallets Jan. 17, the
same day Tehran agreed to release four American prisoners.
The
Obama administration had claimed the events were separate, but recently
acknowledged the cash was used as leverage until the Americans were
allowed to leave Iran. The remaining $1.3 billion represented estimated
interest on the Iranian cash the U.S. had held since the 1970s. The
administration had previously declined to say if the interest was
delivered to Iran in physical cash, as with the principal, or via a more
regular banking mechanism.
Earlier Tuesday,
officials from the State, Justice and Treasury departments held a
closed-door briefing for congressional staff on the payments, according
to a Capitol Hill aide familiar with the session. The officials said the
$1.3 billion was paid in cash on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. The aide was not
authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
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