Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the United States has the ability to restrict Iran's access to the $6 billion of its own money that had been freed for use for humanitarian needs.
President Joe Biden agreed to free the money as a part of a prisoner exchange to secure the release of five Americans detained in Tehran last month, though the agreement has faced new scrutiny in light of unprecedented terrorist attacks that occurred in Israel last weekend. There have been conflicting accounts of Iran's level of involvement in the attacks that left more than 1,200 people dead, though Iran's previous support for Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza is widely recognized.
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"The money that Iran accrued in bank accounts in this case in South Korea, and the sale of its oil was done pursuant to an arrangement established by the previous administration, the Trump administration. None of the funds that have now gone to Qatar have actually been spent or accessed in any way by Iran," Blinken said during a press conference in Tel Aviv.
"Indeed, funds from that account are overseen by the Treasury Department can only be dispensed for humanitarian goods, food, medicine, medical equipment, and never touch Iranian hands," he added. "We have strict oversight of the funds, and we retain the right to freeze them."
A number of lawmakers, mainly conservatives, have called on the Biden administration to reverse its decision to allow Iran access to those funds, though U.S. officials, as Blinken noted, have pointed out that Tehran hasn't accessed the funds yet, so the money couldn't have been used to directly or indirectly fund the attacks that were carried out by Hamas and other Gaza-based terror organizations.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is another terrorist group that attacks Israel based in Lebanon, are sponsored by Iran, though Western officials have denied that Tehran was involved in the planning of or had approval over this weekend's terrorist attacks.
There’s “no question that there’s a degree of complicity here with Iran,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Monday, due to their support for “Hamas for many, many years.”
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National security adviser Jake Sullivan defended the deal securing the release of the wrongfully detained Americans.
"The United States does not regret bringing home American citizens who have been unjustly detained abroad," he told the Washington Examiner. "As I said before, the president has no higher priority than to get Americans home."