For the first time, on Thursday, the U.S State Department conceded that it had delayed making a $400 million dollar payment to Iran for several hours back in January. Their reasons were to “retain maximum leverage” as well as to ensure three American prisoners saw release in the same day.
The $400 million dollar payment was maintained to not be a ransom for the Americans for months by the Obama administration. They instead claimed that it was a payment being put to settling an old dispute. Administration officials claimed it was the first installment of the 1.7 billion dollars that the United States intends to pay Iran as reimbursement for military equipment that it purchased before the Iranian revolution.
John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, said in a briefing on Thursday that the United States “took advantage of the leverage” to make sure that the hostages got out safely and efficiently.
The $400 million dollar payment delay has Republicans recounting the act as a clear ransom, and another sign of his administration’s careless dealings with Tehran, such as the nuclear deal President Obama made for the initial weapon purchase. The acknowledgment from the spokesman has garnered a slew of criticism from Republicans since its reveal.
“It was ransom,” said Representative Ed Royce of California, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We now know it was ransom. And on top of that, it put more American lives at risk. And we’ve emboldened Iran. We’ve encouraged them, frankly, to take more hostages and put more American lives at risk of being taken hostage.”
President Obama stated that neither the $400 million dollar payment or prisoner release was a secret. He had initially announced the financial settlement, as well as the release of the three hostages, on January 17th. “We do not pay ransom,” Mr. Obama said on Aug. 4. “We didn’t here and we won’t in the future.”
The Iranian press had described the payment as a ransom, though most agree that the payment was not a ransom. Rather, the $400 million dollar payment is being seen as the United States having to pay back its debt, sooner or later.
