Iran plans use $6B prisoner cash ‘wherever we need it’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared that Tehran will deploy the $6 billion in funds the US recently moved to unfreeze “wherever we need it.”

On Monday, the US announced it issued a blanked waiver for sanctions on $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets as part of a broader agreement to secure the release of five American detainees.

“This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” Raisi told NBC.

A chorus of Republican critics blasted the deal, insinuating that Iran could find a way to use the unfrozen funds for nefarious purposes.

“I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Tx.) said in a statement.

“The administration is demonstrating weakness that only further endangers Americans and freedom-loving people around the world.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who signed the sanctions waiver last week to pave the way for the deal, stressed the funds could only be used for humanitarian purposes.

“To facilitate their release, the United States has committed to release five Iranian nationals currently held in the United States and to permit the transfer of approximately $6 billion in restricted Iranian funds held in (South Korea) to restricted accounts in Qatar, where the funds will be available only for humanitarian trade,” Blinken said.

Raisi was somewhat coy when pressed if the funds would be used for something other than humanitarian needs.

“Humanitarian means whatever the Iranian people needs, so this money will be budgeted for those needs and the needs of the Iranian people will be decided and determined by the Iranian government,” he told the broadcast network.

The $6 billion in question derived from oil sale revenue and had been held up in South Korea in compliance with US sanctions.

As part of the broader deal, the US will receive five American citizens being detained in Iran and will give Tehran back five Iranians being held in the US.

The deal was first announced on Aug. 10, and the Biden administration informed Congress Monday about the sanctions waiver.

Notably, the sanctions waiver announced coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack, something GOP detractors bemoaned.

Raisi assured NBC News’ Lester Holt that the five American detainees were kept in good condition.

The Biden administration is rumored to be seeking to revive elements of the now-defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA — also known as the Iran nuclear deal.

That deal was brokered under the Obama administration and provided sanctions relief in exchange for Iran imposing temporary limits on its nuclear program.

Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally balked on the agreement and re-imposed sanctions in 2018.