Now that Iran is attacking Israel, it’s a good time to recall that exactly one month ago, the Biden administration freed up billions for Iran in new sanctions relief. Do you think these two developments might be somehow related?
I’m thinking there might be a connection.
FOX News reported in March:
US frees up billions in sanctions relief to Iran as Tehran proxies wreak havoc in regionWhite House national security advisor John Kirby on Friday said the funds from a sanction waiver extended this week by the Biden administration to permit Iraq to purchase energy from Iran will not go to its “mullahs.””None of this money goes to the mullahs. None of this money goes into Tehran. The sanctions relief that is provided actually goes to vendors that provide humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people,” he told Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, during a Friday press briefing. “Not only do the Iraqi people not suffer because of this, the Iranian people aren’t going to suffer because of this.””That allows for Iraq to be able to work its way off of Iranian energy so that they can keep the lights on,” Kirby said.The Biden administration on Thursday came under criticism after it again extended a sanction waiver despite repeated pushback from those concerned that Iran could misuse the funds.
Republicans opposed this. The Washington Free Beacon reported at the time:
Biden Admin Poised To Grant Iran Billions in Sanctions Relief, Lawmakers WarnThe Biden administration is poised to issue a fresh sanctions waiver for Iran that will grant the country access to upward of $10 billion in frozen assets, providing Tehran with “a financial lifeline” as it foments terrorism across the Middle East, according to a group of GOP lawmakers.In November, shortly after Hamas’s attack on Israel, the State Department signed off on a sanctions waiver that permits Iraq to transfer multibillion-dollar electricity payments to Iran. The waiver, which grants Tehran access to around $10 billion in frozen funds, is set to expire this month unless the Biden administration renews it.A group of Republican lawmakers is concerned that the sanctions waiver will be approved, according to a letter sent late Monday to the Treasury and State Departments and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
And now, here we are.
Remember when former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Biden has been “wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue” for decades?
Seems more relevant today.
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