Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and other Senate Republicans joined together in a letter to President Joe Biden to say it is “unconscionable” to have Iran receive $6 billion in its unfrozen assets.
Blackburn led the way alongside Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) John Thune (R-SD), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Mike Braun (R-IN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Ted Budd (R-N), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS).
Since Hamas began its terror attack on Israel on Saturday, more than 4,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza, countless Israelis have been injured, and more than 130 individuals have been kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
Video released by Hamas shows footage of rockets being shot into Israel and paragliders landing into an Israeli military base, on Saturday. Over 800 Israelis were killed in the attacks conducted by Hamas recently. pic.twitter.com/ra7Z6jq03u
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 9, 2023
Hundreds of civilians have been brutally murdered in Israel, and recent reports confirm that several Americans were killed in the attacks. Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and the Wall Street Journal reported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps worked with Hamas to plan the ongoing attacks on Israel.
These horrific attacks come on the heels of the State Department issuing sanctions waivers for Iranian funds held in South Korean accounts to be converted from won to euros and then transferred to bank accounts in Qatar.
The Republicans called to “immediately freeze the accounts in light of the attacks against Israel:
To stand by and allow Iran access to these funds as Hamas infiltrates Israel and murders, rapes, and mutilates countless Israelis is unconscionable. Your administration claims these funds are only available for humanitarian use, but money is fungible, and there is a significant risk they could be used to further efforts by Iran or Hamas against Israel. Moreover, allowing $6 billion to flow into Iran’s economy, even if the purpose is for humanitarian aid, allows the Iranian regime to reallocate even more funds to supporting terrorism. Oversight over the use of this $6 billion is not enough, and the oversight mechanism is crippled by your reported decision to pull the longstanding Treasury attaché from Qatar. The State Department should immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with U.S. ally Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds.
“We must stand with Israel and restrict access to these Iranian funds. Iran should be placed under the most stringent sanctions admissible. Anything short of this is unacceptable and only aids in the ability of Iran and Hamas to fund these heinous acts,” concluded in their letter to Biden.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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