The executive branch has been left unchecked. It’s had devastating consequences.
But now Joe Biden’s admin has received a letter from Congress with this one serious demand for an answer.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, the Biden administration extended its sanctions exemption against the Iranian government on Wednesday, allowing billions of dollars in previously blocked funds to be released to Iran once again.
The original report claims that Tehran is now able to access $10 billion in formerly blocked Iranian income from electricity exports, thanks to the extension of the sanctions waiver for an additional four months. The Biden administration has come under fire for adopting a soft approach towards Iran, which has not shown encouraging results. This includes lowering sanctions and paying “ransom” for captives in an attempt to placate the regime and stop it from acting resentfully against the West.
Mark Dubowitz, the head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), shared with reporters, “Leave it to the Biden administration to be giving access to $10 billion to an Islamist regime that has killed three American soldiers, maimed dozens more, shut down shipping in the Red Sea, is barreling ahead with its nuclear weapons program and is attacking Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East.”
“The Biden administration keeps giving billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic in the hope that it will buy better behavior. It only encourages much greater aggression,” Dubowitz added. “When will they learn?”
Four members of the US Congress, @RepHuizenga, @RepBrianMast, @RepBlaine and @RepJoeWilson, have in a letter to @SecBlinken and @SecYellen raised "serious questions" about the Biden admin's enforcement of Iran sanctions, calling for explanations about its decision to waive… pic.twitter.com/GvCVnjShZn
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 12, 2024
According the report, the sanctions waiver program was put in place in 2018 to let Iraq, which was in dire need of energy, compensate Iran for its supply of electricity.
However, there were tight guidelines attached: Baghdad was not to give Tehran cash, and the money was to be solely utilized for humanitarian aid. This approach was maintained under the Biden administration, but in 2023 it was permitted for the money to be moved to an Oman-based bank and then distributed to Iran.
Richard Goldberg, a senior official with the FDD, stated in a press release on Wednesday that “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. That was not allowed prior to last summer.”
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday, a number of Republican congressmen demanded to know why this strategy was being maintained, particularly in light of Iran’s recent actions in the Middle Eastern region. The amount of funds that Iran has directly accessed since sanctions were relaxed is another question that lawmakers want answered.
Iran is the mastermind and financier of more than a dozen terror organizations operating throughout the Middle East, such as Hamas, which on October 7 slaughtered more than 1,200 civilians in Israel. Three U.S. soldiers were killed by the regime’s terror network at a coalition facility in Jordan towards the end of January. This led to U.S. retaliation strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq.
Since taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration has made a number of concessions to Iran, including lifting oil sanctions that have enabled Tehran to amass billions of dollars and even reaching a $6 billion “ransom” fee in return for five American prisoners who were wrongfully detained in the nation.
Iran (IRI) kills 3 Americans and the Biden team gives them 10 billion dollars
Iran (IRI) takes 5 hostages and the Biden team gives them 6 billion dollars
Being an enemy of the U.S. is lucrative with this unfocused White House
— Michael P Pregent (@MPPregent) March 15, 2024
Foreign policy has not been a strong suit of the Biden administration and has been under immense criticism on that front.
The fumbling of the Afghanistan pullout was the first domino that led to the effect of the Biden administration’s approval rating taking a nose dive worse than any president has seen in American history.
Some Democrats are even voicing their concerns that the Biden regime has no idea what they are doing. When even Democrats are being critical of their own ilk, you know it’s bad.
Instead, the White House just continues to let Iran run unchecked. And yet Americans are supposed to believe that the nation is safer today than just a few short years ago under Donald Trump’s tenure.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
