GOP senators call on Biden to freeze $6 billion in Iranian 'ransom'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
FIRST ON FOX: Amid Israel's deadly war, a group of Republican senators led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn, are urging the Biden administration to freeze Iran's $6 billion in assets that were released to Qatar from South Korean accounts in exchange for American prisoners last month.
"To stand by and allow Iran access to these funds as Hamas infiltrates Israel and murders, rapes, and mutilates countless Israelis is unconscionable," lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden Monday evening.
While the administration said the funds can only be used for humanitarian aid and other resources for Iranian citizens, lawmakers argue that the "money is fungible" — meaning that a unit of currency is interchangeable with another unit of the same value.
"Your administration claims these funds are only available for humanitarian use, but money is fungible, and there is a significant risk they could be used to further efforts by Iran or Hamas against Israel," they wrote. "Moreover, allowing $6 billion to flow into Iran's economy, even if the purpose is for humanitarian aid, allows the Iranian regime to reallocate even more funds to supporting terrorism."
Israeli forces recaptured areas near the Gaza Strip that had been overrun in a Hamas mass-infiltration over the weekend.
The lawmakers added: "The State Department should immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with U.S. ally Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds."
A group of 20 Republicans in the upper chamber, including Blackburn and Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; John Thune, R-S.D.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., among others, signed the letter.
The report comes as nearly 800 casualties have been reported, and 11 Americans have been killed, the U.S. State Department confirmed Monday.
Blackburn told Fox News Digital in a statement that "President Biden is refusing to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment to Iran because he is afraid to admit it was a catalyst for the attacks."
"He still has time to limit the damage," she said, adding that Biden should immediately freeze the funds.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., signed a letter urging the Biden administration to freeze Iran's $6 billion in assets that were released from South Korean accounts last month.
Hamas militant terrorists also took more than 100 people hostage when they launched the surprise attack on Saturday. Israeli soldiers, grandmothers, infants and teenagers were all victims of the hostage-taking.
The deal, which was reached last month, allowed the transfer of Iran's frozen assets held in a South Korean bank to accounts in Qatar. The administration said the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes and the U.S. will have oversight as to how and when the funds are used.
However, Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that they had Iran's support for the attacks, which began Saturday. A bombshell Wall Street Journal report Sunday also said Hamas and Hezbollah helped Iran plan the attack, contradicting the administration's statements.
Cars are seen on fire after they were hit by rockets from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on Saturday.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israel formally declared war on Hamas after the attack. President Biden affirmed Israel's right to defend itself as the Pentagon catapulted assistance to Israel Defense Forces over the weekend.
In a post Saturday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "the deal to bring U.S. citizens home from Iran has nothing to do with the horrific attack on Israel."
"Not a penny has been spent, and when it is, it can only go for humanitarian needs like food and medicine. Anything to the contrary is false," Miller wrote.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
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We'll wait to hear from Joe on that one.
looks like republicans are almost a week behind on current events...
understandable I guess, with that pesky GOP civil war raging and them being unable to govern and all...
Then those republicans need to wake up, catch up and read the news because five days ago the Biden administration announced that they had put a hold on transferring any of Iran's six billion dollars to Iran, that none of the funds have been released yet and that none would be now...
From your source:
The two sources in the room said Adeyemo did not give any timeframe for how long the U.S. and Qatar agreed to block Iran’s access to the money.
That is not what the Senators are asking for. They want that money frozen again. Thay money is now being held by Quatar a friendly state to both Iran & the US depending on what day of the week it is.
So the money is frozen...got it.
Wow! That is the lamest bullshit excuse I've heard in ages...
You don't understand, those republican Senators actually want the money frozen.
It was frozen last week.
Everyone else already knew this, except Fox News MAGA Hats...
Yep, once again, they are a week behind real news.
No they aren't. The article is dated October 9th. It just got posted after the fact here.
Are you admitting this was seeded to be intentionally misleading?
OK
[deleted]
so basically it's a smoke screen to obscure republican dysfunction in gov't, again, got it...
As is death wishing.
oh sorry, that's just a patriotic reflex reaction to almost everything associated with maga ...
magats
all they got
Only FOX reports the truth and then only to themselves in backrooms ... gotta keep all those lawsuits on the hush-hush.
That said, kudos to them for dumping Florida's version of Ken.