Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo inadvertently admitted to Congress on Tuesday that the $6 billion that the Biden administration unfroze for Iran last year in exchange for the return of five American prisoners likely went to fund violent activity.
During his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Adeyemo said:
Senator, you’re right that in a democracy, money is fungible. But what we’ve seen time and time from the Iranian regime is they failed to feed their people and they put the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] first. Any dollar they have will go towards their violent activity before they deal with their people. That’s partially why almost none of the humanitarian money has been used for humanitarian purposes.
They don’t care about getting drugs and food for their people. But the difference is that the United States of America has made as a values proposition that we are always willing to provide humanitarian relief for people and that’s what we’ve said is the only purpose for this money. So while in our country, money is fungible in Iran, they’ve proven that any dollar they get that they have direct access to in the country will be used for the IRGC before it’s ever used for their people.
Last August, the Biden administration unfroze the funds for Iran in exchange for the Americans, arguing that the money would only go towards humanitarian needs.
Republicans said that since money was fungible, it would free up other money for Iran to support terrorist proxies in the region.
Shortly after the Biden administration unfroze those funds, Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas — which is supported by Iran — launched a devastating terrorist attack in southern Israel that killed around 1,200, including many civilian women, children, and elderly. Hamas also kidnapped about 250 and have released fewer than half.
Other Iranian-supported proxy groups in Iraq and Syria have attacked U.S. troops based in those countries, killing three who were on the border of Jordan and Syria, and injuring more than 40.
In addition, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have launched hundreds of attacks on U.S. military and international commercial ships in the Red Sea. Two Navy SEALs drowned in the Arabian Sea while on a mission to interdict Iranian weapons headed to Yemen.
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