Biden’s Iranian Hostage Deal

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Biden has signed off on a politically charged agreement with Iran to bring home five American citizens in exchange for the regime gaining access in the coming weeks to billions of dollars in blocked funds sitting outside the heavily sanctioned country, CBS News has learned.

Under the terms of the arrangement, the $6 billion will be transferred to a bank account in a third country over the coming weeks, and Iran will then gain access to it.

Officials in two Western-allied countries told CBS News that Qatar will be the country to hold those funds in restricted accounts.

Speaking to “Face the Nation” on July 16, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed efforts were underway to bring home four American prisoners, but claimed there was no deal within reach at that time. Since then, and amid ongoing indirect diplomatic outreach, a fifth American was detained by Iran. All five Americans are expected to be released back to their families in the coming weeks.

Diplomats from multiple U.S.-allied countries have been involved in the project to bring home the Americans, including Switzerland, which acts as a U.S. protecting power in Tehran since the U.S. does not have diplomatic representation in Iran. The Gulf nations of Oman and Qatar have also facilitated the indirect diplomatic work conducted by the Biden administration.

So what does one make of all this?

Doubtless it is a relief for family members that the hostages will be released and will return home safely. The problem is how this was achieved.

Any action that a country, especially a superpower such as the U.S. takes, is seen as a statement on a global stage. The statement that the Harris-Biden administration is making by paying ransom is that they are willing to prostrate before terrorists and hostile nations.

A perfect analogy to this situation is a thug in the neighborhood who demands protection money.

The only way to deal with this thug is by force. Paying up is a sign of weakness. It only emboldens the thug to demand more and with increased frequency.  Hence the first move is the issuance of a stern and strong warning. If the tyrant doesn’t learn his lesson, the strong words are converted into action.

The consequence of this payment of $6 billion and the open declaration of it will doubtlessly embolden every enemy of America. They will begin to view every American citizen as an 800-million-dollar cheque that is waiting to be cashed. The fact that Iran added a fifth hostage while negotiations were in progress is proof of that.

The Biden administration has hence endangered the lives of every American citizen, especially those working abroad in close proximity to hostile forces.

The other obvious problem is that the $6 billion could be used by Iran to fund its terror operations. This will foment further tension in the region, particularly present peril to the state of Israel, which Iran has repeatedly threatened as well as U.S. forces stationed in the region.

The Harris-Biden administration has been openly hostile to President Putin and Russia and has committed to funding the war in Ukraine without any deadline. The U.S. has also placed punishing sanctions on Russia.

Iran recently admitted to providing drones to Russia. The ransom money to Iran could be used to support Russia, which would render the Harris-Biden administration’s stated hostile stance on Russia absolutely meaningless.

So why did the Harris-Biden administration willingly bend before Iran?

A possible explanation may lie with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

According to leaked audio revealed by the New York Times, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that Kerry warned him in advance about over 200 covert Israeli attacks on Iranian interests in Syria when President Trump was in office.

Also during the Trump era, Zarif also met with Kerry and other Iranian officials in an effort to salvage the nuclear agreement that the Trump administration was planning to repeal. Kerry admitted to this in 2018. 

Both seem like acts of treason because they are directed at enabling a hostile foreign power while undermining the actions of a democratically elected administration. 

But neither the Democrats, obviously, nor the Republicans in Congress, unfortunately, seem to remember Kerry’s actions. Punitive measures for Kerry are hence quite out of the question. 

Back in mid-2016, during the Obama era, Kerry as Secretary of State took a special interest in trying to help Iran. He along with Treasury Department officials met with European bankers to tell them “legitimate business” is available to them in Iran.

Few may know that Vanessa Kerry, Kerry’s daughter by his first wife, is married to Brian Nahed, who has Iranian roots.

Critics have expressed concerns over Kerry’s possible conflict of interest on matters pertaining to Iran. Kerry frequently visited Iran and opposed military strikes and pressure on Iran in addition to undermining the Trump Administration’s efforts against the regime.

Could Kerry be involved in the ransom negotiations? We will never know.

What we certainly do know is the cowardly actions of the Biden administration have placed American lives in peril and have emboldened America’s adversaries.

Once again the hope is for the Republicans in Congress to take action and do much more than just release statements.

Image: Khamanei.ir

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