Biden admin renews sanctions waiver giving Iran access to $10 billion from Iraq

The Biden administration has extended a sanctions waiver that will grant Iran access to roughly $10 billion from Iraq in exchange for electricity purchases. 

The 120-day waiver, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, is identical to one issued in July, but comes amid increased attacks against US forces by Iranian proxies and just over a month after Iran-backed terror group Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. 

Under the conditions of the waiver, Iran will receive nearly $10 billion being held in escrow accounts in Iraq that may only be used for humanitarian trade, US officials told the Associated Press. 

The waiver extension will also allow the Iranian regime to transfer the electricity payments to accounts in Oman, which can then be converted to other currencies for the Islamic Republic to purchase non-sanctioned products, according to the outlet. 

US officials noted that Blinken signed the waiver primarily because the Biden administration doesn’t want Iraq to be cut off from a critical source of energy.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller defended the waiver extension, arguing that the money “can only benefit the Iranian people.” 

“They get their hands on zero additional dollars as a result of these waivers. Again, none of these funds are sent to Iran. They are held in third-party accounts outside Iran, and can be used only for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable purposes for the benefits of the Iranian people,” Miller said during a press briefing. 

The State Department official also argued that Iran would continue “destabilizing activities” regardless of whether the waiver was issued. 

“These are waivers that have been issued going back to 2018. We have seen Iran continue its destabilizing activities throughout that time, just as they did before the Trump administration issued the first of these waivers in 2018, which is why we have held them accountable through strikes against their proxy militias in the region and through the sanctions I just referred to, as well as a number of other measures,” Miller said. 

“They choose to fund destabilizing activities first,” he added. “They always have; as far as we can tell, they always will. So when it – looking at this money, we see the benefit to allowing these funds to move again to restricted accounts where they can only benefit the Iranian people.”

US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under attack by Iranian proxies at least 55 times since Oct. 17, leaving some 59 personnel injured, according to the Pentagon. 

In September, President Biden unfroze $6 billion in funds for Iran in exchange for the release of five American detainees.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi promptly declared that Tehran would use the money “wherever we need it,” leading to concerns that the regime would spend the funds for nefarious purposes.