Lawmakers Investigate State Department Over $1 Billion Ransom Payment to Iran

Republican foreign policy leaders in Congress are pressing Secretary of State Antony Blinken to fully disclose the contents of secret talks with South Korea that are believed to have paved the way for that country to hand Iran $1 billion as part of a ransom payment.

Bryan Steil, Jim Banks, and Greg Steube say the State Department is withholding from Congress key details about the Biden administration's reported efforts to help South Korea skirt economic sanctions and pay Iran the billion-dollar ransom, which came after Tehran seized a South Korean tanker and its crew in January.

In a letter sent Thursday to Blinken and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the lawmakers demand the State Department answer questions about whether it waived sanctions to enable the payment and took part in negotiations aimed at securing the cash for Iran.

The probe signals mounting GOP frustration with the Biden State Department as it makes a series of concessions to Iran aimed at enticing it back to the bargaining table.

"Is the State Department or the Department of the Treasury aware of any efforts to allow Iran to access funds held in South Korean financial institutions either through a direct transfer of funds or through the Swiss Channel?" the lawmakers ask.

The lawmakers want a commitment from the State Department that it will not permit Iran to access or use the funds before agreeing to a new nuclear deal that stops the country from enriching uranium to levels needed for an atomic weapon.

"Will the State Department and the Department of the Treasury commit to not allowing Iran to access funds held in South Korean financial institutions through the Swiss Channel before Iran re-enters into compliance with the ?" they ask.
 

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/lawmakers-investigate-state-department-over-1-billion-ransom-payment-to-iran/