U.S. Senate Republicans are taking aim at the Obama administration’s settlement of an arms dispute with the Iranian regime, which GOP lawmakers believe was a ransom, amid lingering backlash over the agreement, The Hill reported on Tuesday.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is introducing legislation Tuesday to force the Iranian regime to return the money and pay American victims of Iran-backed terrorism. “The Treasury Department would be blocked from making payments to Iran out of its Judgement Fund until Tehran complies with the bill,” The Hill reported.
“President Obama may have attempted to appease our enemy with pallets of cash secretly delivered on an unmarked cargo plane, but Iran continues to cheat on the nuclear deal, harass our military, hold Americans hostage, and fund terrorism around the world,” Rubio said in a statement.
The Obama administration paid $1.7 billion to Tehran earlier this year to settle a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed between the U.S. and Iran before the Iranian Revolution.
Republicans have seized on the details of the initial $400 million cash payment made in January, which coincided with the release of Americans being held in Iran, to argue that it was a ransom payment. Though the State Department maintains that the payment wasn’t a “ransom,” it acknowledged the $400 million was used as “leverage” to help ensure the prisoners were released.
Rubio said that that Obama’s “misguided policies must be stopped,” adding that “the Iranians continue to take Americans hostage. … Iran should not receive a penny, period.”
The Florida Republican’s legislation is backed by GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), John Barrasso (Wyo.) and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.).
Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) is introducing the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that is expected to consider Iran legislation this month.