President Donald Trump, during his primetime speech on Wednesday, claimed that Democratic president Barack Obama gave $1.7 billion ‘in cash’ to Iran back in 2016. This is a remark the 79-year-old has made in the past. While the numbers are correct, there is an explanation behind the Obama administration move.
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$1.7 billion settlement
The payment stemmed from a decades-old financial dispute between the US and Iran, involving funds that originally belonged to Tehran and had been frozen since the 1970s. In 2016, the Obama admin confirmed that the $1.7 billion settlement was delivered in physical cash using foreign currencies, including euros and Swiss francs.
Officials said the method was necessary due to sanctions that had effectively cut Iran off from the global banking system.
Treasury Department spokeswoman Dawn Selak explained at the time that the cash payments were required because of the ‘effectiveness of US and international sanctions’, which isolated Iran financially.
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Iran released prisoners
The settlement included an initial $400 million, delivered on January 17, 2016, the same day Iran released four American prisoners. While the administration initially maintained the two events were unrelated, it later acknowledged the timing was used as leverage to secure the prisoners’ release.
The remaining $1.3 billion, representing interest on the original sum, was paid in additional cash installments in the following weeks.
‘Never allow Iran…’
Trump further added on Wednesday that he ‘vowed’ years ago to ‘never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon’.
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“For these terrorists to have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat, the most violent and thuggish regime on Earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield,” Trump said.
“I will never let that happen, and neither should any of our past presidents. This situation has been going on for 47 years, and should have been handled long before I arrived in office.”
