WASHINGTON — A group of Republican senators say unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets to secure the release of five Americans sets a bad precedent and will only encourage more hostage-taking, even as the Biden administration says the unlocked funds could be used only for humanitarian purposes.
The mounting congressional criticism of the deal announced last week could complicate an already unstable context in which the agreement to bring home Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Shargi and two unnamed Americans is unfolding.
Last week, Iran transferred four US citizens from Evin Prison to house arrest, where they are expected to remain under Iranian guard until some $6 billion in Iran’s energy revenue frozen under US sanctions is transferred from South Korea to an account in Qatar. The fifth American included in the deal was already under house arrest.
In an Aug. 18 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, 26 Republican senators accused the administration of providing Iran with a “ransom payment” in exchange for the detained Americans.
