Secretary Blinken will be in Qatar on Friday.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyeno told some members of the House Thursday that the government of the U.S. and Qatar have agreed to block Iran from getting access to any of the $6 billion that was part of a prisoner exchange in September.
President Biden’s administration has received bipartisan requests to refreeze the $6 billion. The president’s administration has maintained that the funds could only be used by Tehran for humanitarian assistance.
Twenty members of Congress, including Senator John Cornyn of Texas, sent a letter to President Biden in which they wrote, “Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. … These horrific attacks come on the heels of the State Department issuing sanctions waivers for Iranian funds held in South Korean accounts to be converted from won to euros and then transferred to bank accounts in Qatar.“
The letter continued, “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. We must stand with Israel and restrict access to these Iranian funds. Iran should be placed under the most stringent sanctions admissible.“
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Qatar on Friday for discussions on the war in Israel with the Qatari prime minister.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Secretary Blinken as he speaks with leaders in Qatar regarding the Iranian funds.
- For wisdom for members of Congress as they respond to the Hamas attack upon Israel.
- For the president and his administration as they refreeze the assets that were released in the prisoner deal.
Sources: Newsmax, NBC News, Reuters, Cornyn.Senate.gov
