Scalise says House may block Biden's release of funds to Iran
3 Min Read
The "No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act" is a piece of legislation to re-freeze the seized money that the Biden administration had planned to return to Iran.
-
President Biden during his delivery of the 2023 State of the Union address (AFP)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced on Tuesday that the US House of Representatives would vote on a bill that would prevent the Biden administration from unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian assets that were scheduled to be released as part of a prisoner exchange agreement.
During a press conference, Scalise stated, “We’re bringing a bill to the floor this Thursday that will freeze the $6 billion that Joe Biden wants to give to Iran."
The "No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act" is a legislation that re-freezes the seized money that the Biden administration had planned to return to Iran as part of a prisoner swap agreement earlier this year.
Scalise accused Iran of using the funds to funnel money to "proxy" Resistance groups like Hamas, while the US has expressed that Iran's money could only be spent for "humanitarian purposes".
The US, infamous for double standards, has certainly not been using its own funds for humanitarian purposes, since it has been injecting billions into "Israel's" genocidal military complex that has been committing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
As if the US culpability in the war on Gaza is not enough, leading Republican lawmakers are also pushing to deny new funding for the largest humanitarian relief operation in Gaza provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). They allege ties between the organization and Hamas, despite UNRWA's plea for assistance amid the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza.
US President Joe Biden has reportedly requested $9 billion for urgent global humanitarian aid, including replenishing UNRWA's supplies, but this is facing rejection in a bipartisan Senate deal. Some Republicans claim that Hamas used UNRWA aid in an attack, an accusation denied by both aid groups and the White House. The political fight may impact the US response to the war and hinder humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
“I have grave concerns about how we’ve been expending humanitarian aid in Gaza,” said Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said he would vote against any efforts to give more money to UNRWA.
“I don’t see a need for it right now, as long as the war is going on,” he said.
The White House has stated that there are no known instances of US aid for UNRWA being diverted to Hamas or any other group in Gaza or the West Bank in recent years.
