Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) slammed the Biden administration’s agreement with Iran to unfreeze $6 billion of funds in exchange for the release of five American prisoners, arguing President Biden “just keeps sponsoring problems across the world.”
“Joe Biden just lit a match to the Middle East. Israel has got to be on alert,” Tuberville said during a Wednesday interview with Fox Business. “They’re [Iran] so close to getting a nuclear weapon. It’s scary – they might already have it. But he [Biden] just keeps sponsoring problems across the world. Solve some problems here before you continue to send money every other place.”
The Biden administration’s agreement — which comes after over a year of indirect negotiations with Iran — will issue a blanket waiver for international banks to allow the transfer of the $6 billion of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea to a bank in Qatar in exchange for the release of five American prisoners.
Pointing to House Republicans’ ongoing investigations into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings, Tuberville claimed the Iran agreement helps “take the heat off” the president and his son.
“I’ve never seen such evidence that they’ve [the House] got,” Tuberville said. “And it looks like they’re [Biden] just trying to take the heat off them by doing crazy stuff all over the world and in our country also. So, this makes no sense, it’s madness.”
Both sides of the aisle have criticized the deal, with Republican lawmakers and even a few Democrats expressing concerns it will encourage hostile nations to take more Americans traveling abroad as hostages in the future.
Some Republicans have also argued the move would free up resources for Iran’s military spending and support of terrorism.
Talks surrounding the deal began last month after Iran moved four of the prisoners out of a prison in Tehran to house arrest. A fifth U.S. citizen was already at the location.
The funds were proceeds from Iran’s oil sales to South Korea that were frozen by the U.S. when relations between the two countries faltered.
U.S. officials said the $6 billion was to only be used for food, medicine and other humanitarian goods, though Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the funds will be spent “wherever we need it.”
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