Nikki Haley blasts Biden administration’s excuses on $6B in unfrozen Iranian assets
Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley on Sunday tore into Secretary of State Antony Blinken for denying any link between the Biden administration’s prisoner swap deal that unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets and Hamas’ assault on Israel.
“I actually think it was irresponsible for Secretary Blinken to say that the $6 billion doesn’t weigh in here,” Haley told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“I mean let’s be honest with the American people and understand that Hamas knows and Iran knows they’re moving money around as we speak because they know $6 billion is going to be released.”
The $6 billion derived from Iranian oil revenue has been locked up in South Korean accounts due to international sanctions.
Blinken told CNN earlier on Sunday that “not a single dollar has been spent from that account,” which he stressed was being closely monitored by the US Treasury Department.
US officials agreed to allow Iran to tap into money for humanitarian purposes only during the prisoner exchange agreement finalized last month.
But GOP critics such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have argued that money is fungible.
“This terrorism is funded by Biden’s idiotic release of $6 billion to the Iranians. The Hamas war against Israel is now the second war started under Biden’s failed presidency,” Christie posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“This more recent $6 billion — they’e saying this money can’t be used for that. And that may be true, but money’s fungible…they’ve really empowered some really, really bad people,” DeSantis told Newsmax.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
Haley echoed many of those sentiments.
“Look at what the Iranian people, the Iranian regime has done to threaten Israel over the years,” she continued. “They are moving money around to threaten those they hate. They hate Israel. They hate America.”
On Sunday Blinken told CNN, “we’ve not yet seen evidence that Iran directed” the recent onslaught from Hamas, which caught Israeli defense and intelligence forces off-guard.
He wasn’t the only Biden administration official to counter GOP criticisms of the $6 billion.
“This is a shameful lie in every respect, at a time when both parties should be totally united in supporting Israel’s defense. Not a cent has been spent. They won’t go to the Iranian govt,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates wrote on X Saturday.
Behind the scenes, the Biden administration has reportedly been keen on reviving the so-called Iran nuclear deal as known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Haley, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2018 under the Trump administration, has flexed her foreign policy chops on the campaign trail.
She has long casted herself as a stalwart friend of Israel and fierce opponent of Iran.
“I have been terribly worried about the fact that Iran has said the easiest way to get into America is through the southern border,” Haley said. “We have an open border. People are coming through. They’re not being vetted. We don’t need to wait for another 9/11.”
Shortly after news of Hamas’ rampage spread, Haley declared that the attack wasn’t merely just directed on Israel, but that it “was an attack on America” too.
“Finish them,” she added.
Blinken emphasized that the Biden administration is standing by Israel as it launches a counteroffensive to snuff out the terrorist threat from Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “mighty vengeance” and that Israel will emerge “victorious.”
Israel’s cabinet invoked Article 40 Aleph, marking the nation’s first formally declared war since 1973.
More than 600 Israeli citizens have been killed in the fighting and 2,000 have been wounded, according to Israeli officials.
Additionally, over 313 Palestinians are reported dead and 1,990 reported missing, including 20 killed and 121 injured children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
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