Adam Kredo, FREE BEACON November 14, 2023
The Biden administration on Tuesday reapproved a sanctions waiver that will allow Iran to access upward of $10 billion in frozen assets, the State Department confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon.
Renewal of the waiver “allows Iraq to use its own funds to render payment for Iranian electricity imports into restricted Iranian accounts in Iraq,” a State Department official told the Free Beacon, speaking only on background. “These restricted funds can only be used for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable transactions.”
While Iran can only use the funds related to the sanctions waiver for the purchase of humanitarian goods, critics of the administration’s policy argue that by freeing up this cash, Iran can allocate other financial resources to its global terrorism operation, which has been in overdrive since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. Analysts place the amount of cash accessible by Iran at upward of $10 billion, as the Free Beacon first reported on Monday.
In deciding to renew the waiver for an additional 120 days, the State Department official said, “Unfortunately, Iraq will not wean itself off of Iranian gas imports overnight.”
The administration maintains that allowing these funds to be accessed by Iran limits its leverage of the Iraqi government, which has grown increasingly close to Tehran’s hardline regime in recent years.
“It is in the U.S. interest that this money leave Iraq and be spent down from Iran’s accounts held overseas,” the State Department official went on. “Money used for non-sanctionable, allowable transactions—like humanitarian trade—is not available to Iran for other purposes, and it deprives Iran of leverage against the Iraqi government.”
Critics, however, see the sanctions waiver as proof that the administration is maintaining Tehran’s financial channels, even after it provided Hamas with the resources necessary to slaughter more than 1,200 Israelis and take hostage many others, including Americans.
“The White House just responded to October 7th with a $10 billion reward,” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and sanctions expert who served on the White House National Security Council, told the Free Beacon. “Congress needs to act quickly to cut off Iran’s access to every penny.”
Due to Iraq’s reliance on Iran for energy, the State Department said, “this waiver continues to be necessary, to provide space and time for the government of Iraq to implement [Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani’s] energy reform agenda.”
The State Department also confirmed that like July’s version of the waiver, Iraq will be able to transfer Iranian funds to third-party countries, including Oman and several in Europe.
The State Department maintains that Iraq’s ongoing payments to Iran effectively reduce “Iranian leverage over Iraq.”
I heard in the news this evening that Shumer gave a new conference how he was going to work to get Israel some money and then went in and voted against it. Actions speak lower than words.
Biden is the definition of brainless and illogical. Biden keeps allowing Iran to get billions of dollars and says it is okay because it is for humanitarian purposes.
Iran keeps having its proxies attack Americans and Israelis.
Money is fungible there is no way this new freed up money does not make its way to Hezbollah or other proxies or to the IRGC.
In this article French President Macron freezes the salaries of top Hamas commanders and calls for an international coalition to combat Hamas:
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/11/15/france-freezes-assets-of-top-hamas-terrorist-commanders/
I agree with @peloni1986, this Obama/Biden government is fully committed to Iran’s hegemony in the Middle East. Israel must defeat and destroy Hamas regardless of the American government’s efforts and the Information War against Israel.
Israel is winning this war so far. It must keep doing so until the end. There is no possibility of the PA becoming the leadership in Gaza, despite what the US government imagines.
We should remember that this US government does not have the ability to accomplish any of its goals: it failed in Afghanistan, it failed in Ukraine, it has failed on the US domestic front in every area. So the US government can say whatever it wants to say about how things should be done in Israel, but it is incapable of reaching any of its goals because the US government goals are so out of touch with reality.
Biden said all kinds of things about Ukraine, such as “We will turn the ruble to rubble.” And what happened? Russia’s economy did better than any European economy and better than the US economy.
It is difficult to attribute much in the way of effective power to the Biden government. The rats are starting to jump the sinking ship of the Biden administration. Even the head of BLM in Rhode Island is talking about voting for Trump.
So Biden will continue to the bitter end funding Iran and all Iran’s proxies. But the tide is turning and the forces for good are winning.
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/11/14/march-for-israel-breaks-record-largest-pro-israel-rally-in-u-s-history/
Tuesday’s “March for Israel” on the National Mall in Washington, DC, reached an estimated total of 290,000 participants — three times what organizers had expected and the largest pro-Israel gathering in U.S. history.
I think even Schumer showed up!
The US is underwriting Iran’s proxy war with Israel, even as the US poses as Israel’s ally while threatening Israel in regards to its Red Line for Israel – any substantive move against Iran or its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. The state sponsoring of terrorism by the so called leader of the free world is an international abomination and should be an affront to anyone who was outraged by the Simchat Torah massacre. They mean to tie Israel’s hands while limiting her ability to do more than challenge Hamas, while leaving the vast network of Iran’s colonialist holdings, not only in place, but well subsidized as well. Should we suggest that the US is paying the Mullahs so that Israel can annihilate its Gazan proxy in pursuit of the US nightmare to install the terrorist PA in control of an independent terror state on both the east and western borders of Israel? Yes, I believe we can. This must be opposed publicly and loudly.