The Biden Administration has issued a waiver for South Korea to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds to a bank in Qatar, but the money must be used to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. The agreement was reached as the U.S. is seeking the release of 5 American citizens that are being held by Iran on charges of spying. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved the deal last week but Congress wasn’t notified until this past Monday. Despite U.S. assurances that the money will not be used to fund terrorism or other banned activities, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said, “This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money.” Critics say that by making such a deal, the Biden Administration is incentivizing Iran and other countries to take and hold American citizens as a means of extortion.
