WASHINGTON —In early September, the Biden administration cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.
On Tuesday, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall called on Joe Biden to immediately freeze the $6B he signed over to Iran. On social media Marshall wrote, "Iran has bankrolled Hamas and helped them plan their barbaric attacks on Israel. The president should have never brokered billion-dollar deals with rogue nations like Iran."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers for Iran a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place. Congress was not informed of the waiver decision until after the fact, according to the notification, which was obtained by The Associated Press.