Even as Iran continues sponsoring the Hamas terrorist organization as it wars with Israel, the Biden Administration recently approved a new sanctions waiver for the regime, potentially allowing Iran to access billions of dollars. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) joined with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) in demanding answers as to why such a decision was made, calling it "unfathomable."
In mid-March, the Biden Administration thawed frozen assets and funds worth up to $10 billion. The intended goal of this unfreezing would allow Iraq to transfer electricity payments to Iran via third-party countries, as the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Despite the State Department's insistence that the money does not go to Iran and can only go toward humanitarian purchases, Republicans in the House and Senate have argued that because money is fungible and because of Iran's history of lying about where their money goes, such sanctions waivers only keep the Ayatollah afloat and allow the regime to continue funding their proxies.
Both Senators note this in their letter, "It is unfathomable that this is the context in which the administration determined that it was within the national security interest of the United States to waive sanctions on restricted Iranian funds, making them more accessible to the regime. If we want to actually restore deterrence in the region, those funds should be placed further out of Iran’s reach, not closer."
Moreover, the sanction waivers skirt around an amendment to the Iran Threat Reduction Act passed in 2012, which limits Iran's ability to access hard currency through petroleum sales. Before the waivers were issued, countries that bought Iranian oil kept the money in domestic accounts and their currency. However, these "three waivers related to Iraqi electricity payments that authorize funds to be transferred outside of Iraq and for those funds to be denominated in euro."
In other words, Iran gets money with less difficulty.
As a result, Sen. Scott (FL) demanded answers on why the Biden Administration authorized these sanction waivers at a time when Iran's proxies are attacking American troops in the Middle East, some of which have resulted in casualties, such as the deaths of three servicemembers via a drone strike in late January.
On X (formerly Twitter), Rick Scott reposted Tim Scott's letter, saying, "The U.S. should NEVER be supporting terrorists who want to destroy our way of life. The Iranian regime chants “Death to America” and wishes to destroy Israel too. The Biden admin’s repeated appeasement demands transparency and accountability to protect America and our allies."
The U.S. should NEVER be supporting terrorists who want to destroy our way of life. The Iranian regime chants “Death to America” and wishes to destroy Israel too.
The Biden admin’s repeated appeasement demands transparency and accountability to protect America and our allies. https://t.co/SqWlfpBRH1— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 4, 2024
