With Iran reportedly backing the Hamas attack on Israel, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week led 19 of her Republican colleagues in urging President Joe Biden to immediately freeze the accounts in Qatar containing $6 billion in Iranian funds that were released from South Korean accounts in September.
The Hamas attacks on Saturday came on the heels of action last month by the U.S. State Department, which waived sanctions to allow the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar, a step needed to carry out a U.S.-Iran prisoner swap, according to Reuters.
Sen. Blackburn and her colleagues called on the State Department to rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, and to work with U.S. ally Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds, according to an Oct. 9 letter the lawmakers sent to Biden.
“Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, and the Wall Street Journal reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps worked with Hamas to plan the ongoing attacks on Israel,” Sen. Blackburn and the lawmakers wrote. “To stand by and allow Iran access to these funds as Hamas infiltrates Israel and murders, rapes, and mutilates countless Israelis is unconscionable.”
The senators pointed out that while the Biden administration claims these funds are only available for humanitarian use, money is fungible, and they noted a significant risk exists that the funds could be used to further efforts by Iran or Hamas against Israel, according to their letter.
“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,” they wrote. “Oversight over the use of this $6 billion is not enough, and the oversight mechanism is crippled by your reported decision to pull the long-standing Treasury attaché from Qatar.”
Sen. Blackburn and her colleagues, who included U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Thune (R-SD), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), concluded that the United States must stand with Israel and restrict access to these Iranian funds.
“Iran should be placed under the most stringent sanctions admissible,” they wrote. “Anything short of this is unacceptable and only aids in the ability of Iran and Hamas to fund these heinous acts.”