U.S. and Qatar Block Iran s Access to $6 Billion From Prisoner Deal – The New York Times

The United States and Qatar have agreed to deny Iran s access to $6 billion in funds recently transferred to the nation as part of a deal between Washington and Tehran that led to the release of five imprisoned Americans from Iran last month.

Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, told House Democrats on Thursday that Iran would no longer have access to the funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. The money was under close supervision and strict conditions that it be used only for humanitarian purposes.

The move comes amid harsh criticism, mainly from Republicans, that the Biden administration gave Iran access to a vast sum that freed up other funds for Tehran to provide support to Hamas before its attack on Israel over the weekend.

U.S. officials said they had not seen intelligence that Iran had directly assisted with the assault and that some senior Iranian officials were taken by surprise. But Tehran has been a major backer of Hamas for decades, and opponents of releasing the funds said the fungibility of money meant the restrictions had little meaning.

via www.nytimes.com

Well good.