U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed

[Purveyor]

Source: WSJ

By JAY SOLOMON and CAROL E. LEE
Aug. 2, 2016 7:51 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward.

Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said.

The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The settlement, which resolved claims before an international tribunal in The Hague, also coincided with the formal implementation that same weekend of the landmark nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the U.S. and other global powers the summer before.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sent-cash-to-iran-as-americans-were-freed-1470181874

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So we returned 'some' of the money that was Iran's in the first place. Big f'n deal...

[63splitwindow]

1. I thought this thread was going to be about...

[George II]

2. Right. That was treasonous - before the election Reagan sent negotiators to Europe....

....to promise "something" to the Iranians to keep the hostages until after the election and his inauguration to first win the election and second make Carter look ever worse.

I suspect that "something" may have been along the lines of the Iran/Contra affair, Reagan's SECOND treasonous act by defying the will of Congress.

Reagan was far from a saint and very very far from being a "great" president.

[cstanleytech]

5. Didnt you get the memo? Its not treason if a Republican does it, its patriotic.

[Festivito]

18. They seem to be coincidence theory nuts. eom

[forest444]

33. Or, as Kissinger put it:

"The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes longer."

[Freddie]

27. There's a Trump ad on the radio

That *brags* about this very treasonous incident as an example of how St. Ronnie had a strong military to "keep us safe" and Trump will do the same.
Needs a rebuttal for sure.

[Chemisse]

22. So did I! n/t

[elehhhhna]

3. cash? thats shady.

[63splitwindow]

8. We agreed to give back THEIR money that was previously frozen as a term of an agreement ....

that we concluded was, overall, in our best interest. If the idea of the first installment being cash meant something meaningful to them, GREAT. In reality (which we deal in) the mode of payment was totally insignificant once the designated time for payment arrived.

[elehhhhna]

25. I agree with returning it, but cash?

[global1]

4. This Can't Be Good News For Hillary....

wait till Trump jumps on this and twists it.

[misterhighwasted]

7. Pres Obama still cleaning up the unresolved mess left by those who went before him.

The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

[anamandujano]

10. As a rule Repukes make the messes and the Dems have to clean them up.

They also empty the coffers while Dems are charged with filling them again while taking the heat from those who caused the problems to begin with.

[misterhighwasted]

12. That is true.

GHW Bush ended his term in the RED. Bill Clinton clean it up & ended his term in the BLACK.
GW Bush blew through trillions & left this country a hellhole for Obama to somehow figure out how to put it back together..and with a RW Legislature working against him.
We will never recover from Trump.

[global1]

11. You Know That And I Know That But...

there will be millions of Americans that will be influenced by how Trump will interpret it.

[Ilsa]

28. I wish the administration would do a better job explaining why

This is happening. The press secretary flubbed it, IMO.

[karynnj]

30. No he did not

This happened in January and both the White House and State Department explained ALL the various negotiations then.

[Ilsa]

35. Then they should repeat what they said then.

The media take has been negative, as has the gossipy smearing.

[karynnj]

36. They have, the problem is the media

This started the same way every right wing story has. The Murdock owned Wall street journal wrote a story, FOX repeated it and it is on all the right wing sites. It is now repeated by Pence and others to try to change the coverage.

The fact is the White House and the State Department explained all of this in detail back in January. There were serious articles about it in serious papers. There was NO interest here even when everything was resolved and all the agreements signed.

Not to mention, they have forgotten the years of negotiation where the WH and SD were asked constantly about those hostages and Kerry's answer that it was brought up every time they met was considered too little.

They are repeating the same things now. However, the media other than the most serious parts is in attention deficit mode.

What is really the root of this is they are relitigating the Iran deal itself. The fact though is it IS doing what it was designed to do.

[Lulu KC]

6. The headlines will read....

Muslim president stole money and sent to friends in Iran.

[63splitwindow]

9. Other than RW vulture sites, where do you predict this will be the headline?

[Lulu KC]

14. Headline of quote from Trump, I meant n/t

[63splitwindow]

15. That could be. Fucking attention whoring media.

[6chars]

13. who could possibly see anything wrong with this?

The sailor thing was our fault. So was the holding onto Iran's money. And the timing of these two events was just coincidence.

[63splitwindow]

16. I don't necessarily "fault" us for freezing the funds nor the release thereof (cash, check etc,)

[bhikkhu]

17. It wasn't secret, and it was their money not ours

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/17/politics/us-pays-iran-1-7-billion/

Iran set up a $400 million dollar trust fund here to go toward military equipment purchases, back when the Shah was running things. After the revolution the US government froze those funds. A part of the hostage exchange was unfreezing the funds - giving Iran's money back to Iran. I'm ok with that.

[wishstar]

19. Old story, being sensationalized now by right wing WSJ for political reasons

This was already explained back in January- but these writers are seizing on an opportunity to turn it into a scandal that can used by Trump and Repubs to smear Obama Admin.

[Lulu KC]

20. Yes! I just realized this!

A January story that was on CNN is news because....? But I thought even WSJ was coming around to Hillary. Must catch up!

[videohead5]

21. All Hillary Has To Say

So you would be happy to let our hostages rot in Iran Mr. Trump.

[karynnj]

24. It was not for the hostages

Last edited Wed Aug 3, 2016, 06:49 PM - Edit history (1)

It was part of the entire deal that put Iran more than a year from a nuclear bomb with invasive inspections from a point where they were within 2 months and no inspections.

This is the right resurfacing things known more than a year ago to argue the Iran deal was not good. The truth is it has made a war with Iran far less likely. Obama and Kerry are justified in being very proud of their work. It was very significant that Clinton spoke of that Obama administration accomplishment in her acceptance speech .

[karynnj]

23. This was spoken of even in the lead up to the final deal

It was not secret. Iran, in that time period, was shipping out enriched uranium and destroying a plutonium reactor. Clearly, this is put out as "news" again to religate the deal.

In fact, when the deal was agreed to in July 2015, Obama spoke of the fact that they would get their money that had been frozen for decades. He addressed the concern that it could be partly used to support terror.

Note that was before the vote required by the Corker/Cardin resolution.

[BigMin28]

26. We sent 12 billion

in cash to Iraq under Bush, no one can account for it, and you heard nothing about it from the rethugs!

[Ilsa]

29. Yep, just Trump. NT

[Sunlei]

31. Good. All sides are making good on the new agreements and the settlement agreement.

[GulfCoast66]

32. As more negative polls come out

Like the Fox Poll this evening, the normal RW 'media' outlets are going to become desperate and start throwing anything against the wall for something that sticks.

I cannot believe that this is the best they can do. I was reported when it happened. We signed a treaty with them. They stopped developing nuclear weapons. And we released their frozen assets from 35 years ago.

I really hope in the debate(which I doubt happens) trump is asked what it means to 'cancel' the Iran treaty. Because almost all of our Allies signed on. They will not follow suit. So does he sanction them? That dipshit will probably threaten to do so.

[ManiacJoe]

34. I suppose I should not be surprised by the media using a click-bait title for the article.

The title should have read, "U.S. Returned Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed"

[truthisfreedom]

37. Old, old news. Not even a story.

Someone report this right-wing nonsense.