House passes bill to permanently re-freeze Iran's $6bln oil funds
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The bill passed in a 307-119 vote, with all Republicans but one voting in favor and almost half of Democrats voting against.
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Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 (AP)
The House passed a bill on Thursday to permanently and completely freeze Iran's $6 billion in funds it had promised to return to Iran earlier this year in exchange for the release of five American prisoners.
The bill was introduced by Representative Michael McCaul and passed in a 307-119 vote, with all Republicans but one voting in favor of it and almost half of Democrats voting against it.
Since the deal was struck in August, Republicans have criticized it, accusing the Biden administration of capitulating to Iran.
Representative Keith Self argued on the House floor that "strength is the only language understood by adversaries."
In defense of the decision to unfreeze $6 billion at the time, the White House maintained that it was necessary to secure the release of the five Americans. The Biden administration also contended that the funds could only be utilized for humanitarian purposes. However, Iran has pledged to use the money as it sees fit.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), countered Republican claims by stating that "not a single penny of the funds has been spent by Iran." Meeks argued that breaking the deal would harm US global credibility and commended Biden for taking the right action in prioritizing the detained Americans.M
Meeks said, “I ask my colleagues on the other side, what do you say to those families? Do we renege on the deal?”
McCaul, on the other hand, had judged the naivety of the administration and claimed that there were no guarantees that Iran would use the money for humanitarian purposes.
While I'm relieved innocent Americans held in Iran have returned home safely, the Biden admin's dangerous $6b hostage deal put a price on every American head all over the world.
— Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul) November 30, 2023
My bill would freeze those funds & repair the damage. Watch my remarks today on the House floor ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/znNO2HmT8A
In a post on X, Rep. McCaul confirmed the release of the American prisoners but still advocated for the bill, signifying a serious infringement.
Using Al-Aqsa Flood Operation as an excuse
In October, the US administration began discussing the possibility of refreezing the money to condemn Hamas following Operation al-Aqsa Flood, as well as Ansar Allah in Yemen, as claims of Iranian complicity in the backing of these groups were raised, and the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Iran, keeping all options open, although no proof was provided to prove the US claims.
This comes although John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, confirmed that there is no hard evidence pointing to Iran's involvement in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
"We haven't seen hard, tangible evidence that Iran was directly involved in participating in or resourcing, planning, these sorts of complex attacks that Hamas pulled off over the weekend," he said
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is co-sponsoring a measure to re-freeze the funds, claimed that the connection between resources, training, and weapons from Tehran to fighters in the Middle East is evident.
Read more: DoJ admits US looted 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in April
