Did Obama really send $1.7 billion in cash to Iran, as Trump claims?
Washington: President Donald Trump, speaking in a primetime address on Wednesday, reiterated his claim that former Democratic president Barack Obama authorised the transfer of $1.7 billion in cash to Iran in 2016. The 79-year-old has raised this allegation on several previous occasions. Although the figure he cited is accurate, officials have long clarified the context behind the decision taken by the Obama administration.
The payment was linked to a financial disagreement dating back several decades between Washington and Tehran. The funds in question originally belonged to Iran but had been frozen since the 1970s. In 2016, the Obama administration confirmed that the $1.7 billion settlement was delivered in physical currency, comprising euros, Swiss francs and other foreign denominations.
Why the payment was made in cash
Officials at the time stated that the use of cash was unavoidable due to sanctions that had effectively excluded Iran from the international banking network.
Dawn Selak, then a spokesperson for the US Treasury Department, explained that the cash arrangement was necessitated by the “effectiveness of US and international sanctions”, which had severely restricted Iran’s access to global financial systems.
The settlement included an initial payment of $400 million, which was transferred on January 17, 2016. This coincided with Iran’s release of four American prisoners. While the administration initially insisted that the payment and the prisoner release were not connected, it later acknowledged that the timing had been used strategically to help secure their freedom.
Breakdown of the full settlement amount
The remaining $1.3 billion, which accounted for interest on the original amount, was subsequently paid in additional cash instalments over the following weeks.
Trump reiterates stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions
During the same address, Trump also repeated his long-standing position on Iran’s nuclear programme, stating that he had pledged years earlier to ensure the country would not acquire nuclear weapons.
“For these terrorists to have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat. The most violent and thuggish regime on Earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield,” he said.
He added, “I will never let that happen, and neither should any of our past presidents. This situation has been going on for 47 years, and should have been handled long before I arrived in office.”