US President Joe Biden on Wednesday renewed another 120-day sanctions waiver for Iran only six weeks after three US soldiers were killed by Iran’s proxies.
Biden’s signature on the waiver released up to $10 billion in frozen funds to the ayatollahs, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The State Department claims that the funds can only be used for humanitarian needs but Republicans have pointed out that the waivers enable Iran to divert funds to terror activities, including funding Hamas in its war against Israel.
“By waiving the application of sanctions, the Administration is maintaining a financial lifeline for the Iranian regime, even as it continues to support terrorist organizations around the world,” Rep. Bill Huizenga (Mich.) and three GOP House colleagues wrote to the Biden administration earlier this week.
Iran, the lawmakers argued, “has a history of lying about humanitarian transactions. There is no reason to think that they will not try to skirt these restrictions again. Additionally, money is fungible, and the waiver and subsequent transfer will free up billions in funds that Iran can now spend on its terrorist proxies, nuclear activities, and military.”
Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council member who worked on the Iran portfolio, said the latest version of the sanctions waiver is substantially different than the one issued during the Trump administration. The Biden version, he said, gives Iran far more leeway in how the money is used.
“This is not the same waiver for Iraqi electricity imports that has been issued since 2018. This is an Iran sanctions relief waiver that allows Tehran to access money and use it for budget support, including debt payments and import subsidies,” said Goldberg, a senior adviser for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.
“The fact that the administration will not even tell the American people how much money Iran has accessed over the last four months—money that subsidized three American soldier deaths and nonstop attacks on the American Navy—should prompt the U.S. Senate to immediately pass the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act and send to the president’s desk,” he said, referring to legislation that would cut off Iran’s access to previously frozen funds.
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