Biden Administration Renews Sanctions Waiver, Opening $10 Billion to Iran from Iraq

The U.S. State Department has renewed a sanctions waiver that allows Iraq to buy electricity from Iran.

The unpaid bills to Iran total around $10 billion.

Yes, Iran…the backers of Hamas, the terrorist group that invaded Israel on October 7, killing over 1200 people, wounded 5,000, and kidnapped 240 people.

They are so freaking stupid:

There is roughly US$10 billion in Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity currently being held in escrow accounts in Iraq, and the waiver will allow Baghdad to maintain its energy imports without fear of U.S. penalties for violating sanctions on Iran.It will also keep in place a provision — included in the last 120-day waiver — under which portions of the electricity proceeds can be transferred to accounts in Oman and then converted to euros or other widely traded currencies for Iran to buy non-sanctioned products.

This is not a joke:

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision-making process, said Blinken signed the waiver mainly because the administration doesn’t want to cut Iraq off from a critical source of energy.But, they said the administration is confident Iran will not be able to use any of the money for nefarious purposes. They said a rigorous vetting process is in place to ensure that the cash can only be used for food, medicine, medical equipment and agricultural goods.

Gee, where have we heard that before? Oh, yeah. The $6 billion unlocked for Iran in exchange for prisoners.

If I am ever held hostage, don’t ever negotiate for me.

Iran supports Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. I find it hard to believe they have a system where they can keep an eye on the funds and how Iran spends the money.

The State Department also tried to justify the move by claiming Iran cannot use the electricity over the country’s head:

“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.”

Tags: Biden Administration, Gaza, Gaza - 2023 War, Hamas, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestinian Terror

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