A group of 26 Republican senators is warning that President Biden is bypassing Congress in his efforts to enter a new nuclear deal with Iran.
In a letter, signed by the majority of Senate Republicans last week and addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers raised concerns with the Biden administration’s recent prisoner swap that sent $6 billion to the Iranian regime in a “secret negotiation.”
“When the Obama administration released $400 million in liquidated assets to Iran in 2016, we warned that this dangerous precedent would put a price on American lives. Seven years later, the current administration is providing a ransom payment worth at least fifteen times that amount to the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, in yet another violation of the United States’ long-standing ‘no concessions’ policy,” the senators wrote.
“The release of such a significant sum to the Iranian regime runs entirely counter to that claim and will only serve to encourage additional hostage taking for financial or political gain,” the letter continued.
“We are also worried that your administration is attempting to sidestep Congress and pursue other pathways to financially compensate Iran in an attempt to renegotiate a successor to the ill-fated 2015 nuclear deal,” the senators wrote. “Any agreement with the Iranian regime that entails financial reward for malign behavior is wholly unacceptable.”
The senators offered questions for Blinken and Yellen to answer within 30 days, “[g]iven the risk this agreement poses to the safety of American citizens overseas and broader United States national security interests.”
The debate over the Iran nuclear deal is likely to be a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections. Republicans are hoping to capitalize on public concerns about the deal and use it to win seats in Congress.
The Biden administration is facing a difficult task in trying to revive the Iran nuclear deal. The deal was abandoned by former President Trump in 2018, and Iran has since made significant progress in its nuclear program.
Joined @SenatorTimScott & 24 @SenateGOP colleagues demanding answers from @SecBlinken & @SecYellen regarding the $6 billion the Admin released to Iran in exchange for American prisoners.
Our letter:⬇️https://t.co/yRDq0PIBH9 pic.twitter.com/Mn540zYI61— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) August 19, 2023
