Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and John Kennedy, R-La., joined Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Tuesday in introducing legislation to freeze the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian assets.
The Biden administration informed Congress on Sept. 11 that it had taken steps to carry out a prisoner exchange with Iran, issuing a waiver giving Tehran access to $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue that had been blocked by U.S. sanctions.
That was before Hamas terrorists, whom many experts say were encouraged and supported financially by Iran, attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and massacred roughly 1,400 people. Additionally, nearly 200 hostages were taken to Gaza.
The senators' two-page bill, with just one section named "Reinstatement of certain sanctions imposed with respect to Iran,” simply states that "any statutory sanctions … that were waived, suspended, reduced or otherwise relieved pursuant to an agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran … are hereby reinstated."
Cotton called Iran "the world's worst state sponsor of terrorism."
"In addition to funding Hamas' devastating terrorist attacks against Israel, the regime’s proxies have attacked dozens of American targets in the region in recent years," Cotton said in a statement.
"The Biden administration’s decision to let Iran access the $6 billion immediately freed up other money for the regime to fund its attacks in Israel. The Biden administration should immediately re-freeze the funds."
Kennedy said the Biden administration's action in unfreezing the money was "shameful."
"Just weeks after the Biden White House made shameful negotiations to transfer $6 billion to Tehran without congressional review, the Iranian regime sponsored a devastating terror attack on Israel, killing and taking American citizens hostage," Kennedy said in a statement.
"Congress must ensure that the Biden administration freezes these assets before they flow to the Islamic Republic. Allowing the transfer to go through would further enable and embolden Iran’s proxy armies."
McConnell, on the Senate floor Tuesday, said it is "absurd" to suggest that "seeking to free up $6 billion in Iranian assets doesn’t embolden Tehran."
"We have reams, reams of evidence that the regime that chants death to America and death to Israel puts its money where its mouth is," he said.
The leader criticized Biden’s strategy of engaging with Iran diplomatically, arguing that Biden must "accept that the fundamental assumptions of his administration’s Iran policy were morally and practically bankrupt."
"He should start by doing what I had recommended to him since he took office — work with Republicans to craft a bipartisan Iran policy that will survive his administration," McConnell said. "And more immediately, the president needs to show Iran and its terrorist proxies, like Hezbollah, that further involvement in this conflict will risk crippling economic sanctions and the decisive use of military strength."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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