U.S. paid Iran ransom for U.S hostages from tax payers funds

Ransom. That is what we paid to Iran for the release of five U.S. prisoners. It was not bad enough that the exchange was so one sided. We had to throw in cash as well. So now it is open season on hostage taking. North Korea just caught on to the act. US Student Detained in North Korea Over “Anti-State” Acts ABC News‎

The Obama administration is facing criticism for paying Iran $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds as part of what critics described as a “ransom” bound up in a controversial hostage trade designed to secure the release of five Americans long held by Iran, according to conversations with administration officials and experts critical of the agreement.

The payment came just prior to the release by Iran of five U.S. prisoners, prompting claims from some that the $1.7 billion was a ransom payment. Senior officials in Iran have said the money was provided as part of the prisoner swap.

The administration denies the issues are tied and insists that the money was provided to settle a decades-old dispute with Iran over the United States’ refusal to make good on a deal to provide the country military equipment following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Under the terms of the settlement, Iran will be paid a $400 million balance, plus an additional $1.3 billion in interest from the taxpayer fund, according to a State Department official.

And as far as the the release of Billions to Iran recently?

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry said money from the Iran deal could end up in the hands of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“I think that some of [the $55 billion] will end up in the hands of the IRGC or of other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists,” Kerry said.

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Filed under: Government Tagged: hostages, Iran, National Security