Montana Sen. Jon Tester on Tuesday called for $6 billion in Iranian oil assets used in a recent American prisoner swap to be immediately refrozen after the Hamas terror attacks against Israel.
The position from Mr. Tester, who is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024, departed from the Biden administration and most of his Democratic colleagues.
“As American intelligence officials continue to investigate the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas, we should review our options to hold Iran accountable for any support they may have provided,” Mr. Tester said in a statement. “At a minimum, we should immediately freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets and explore other financial tools we have at our disposal.”
While U.S. officials have not cited direct links from Iran to Hamas’ attacks that killed more than 1,000 Israelis and at least 14 Americans, Tehran has long propped up Hamas and other terrorist activities with money, training and weapons.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday conceded as much.
“We have said since the beginning that Iran is complicit in this attack in a broad sense because they have provided the lion share of the funding to the military wing of Hamas,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters. “They have provided training, they have provided capabilities, they have provided support. They have had engagement and contact with Hamas over years and years.”
As to whether Iran had forewarning or helped prep Hamas’ attack that has since prompted Israel to bombard the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas known as the Gaza Strip, Mr. Sullivan said the U.S. “[does] not, as of the moment I am standing here at the podium, have confirmation of that.”
He also defended President Biden’s prisoner swap deal with Iran, in which the U.S. agreed in September to lift sanctions on $6 billion in oil revenue in exchange for the release of five Americans.
“We have not yet had a dollar of that $6 billion spent, and I will leave it at that,” Mr. Sullivan said.
Administration officials have insisted that the money will be used for humanitarian aid, although Iran has countered that it will spend the tranche as it pleases. U.S. officials have also said they will be able to track how the money is used, an assertion congressional Republicans don’t buy.
“The United States does not regret bringing home American citizens who have been unjustly detained abroad,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We stand by bringing those people home because that is the duty of the commander-in-chief, is to get innocent Americans out of captivity in places that they are being unjustly detained.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.