“Iran has unfortunately always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas.”
During an interview with NBC News on Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration's decision to unfreeze $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds as part of a prison swap deal in September. He also stated that the Islamic Republic has "always" put money towards funding terroristic operations.
"What do you say about the argument that money is fungible — so Iran may have known this money is coming and used other funds to help fund this attack?" NBC News' Kristen Welker asked Blinken.
"Iran has unfortunately always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas," responded Blinken. "And it’s done that when there have been sanctions, it’s done that when there haven’t been sanctions, and it’s always prioritized that."
He emphasized that the money the Biden administration released to Iran was done solely for humanitarian purposes, and claimed that the Trump administration had "set up a very similar mechanism.
It has since been revealed that Palestinian terrorist group Hamas was aided in their surprise attack on Israel by Iran. Iran allegedly greenlit the attack last week. The attacks against Israel have resulted in the deaths of hundreds, including at least 4 Americans, and has led to a declaration of war by Israel.
Former President Trump issued a condemnation of the attacks on Saturday and suggested that recent use of American taxpayer dollars on the part of the Biden administration may have helped fund the carnage.
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