Politics

US House passes bill to block Iran ever accessing $6 billion from prisoner swap

Washington, Nov 30 (EFE).- The United States House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to block Iran from ever accessing the $6 billion unfrozen in September as part of a prisoner swap between the two countries.

The Lower House approved the bill in a 307-119 vote, with strong bipartisan support, in response to the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas – an ally of Tehran – in Israel on Oct. 7.

The bill now goes to the Democratic-majority Senate, where it must be approved for it to reach the White House.

“The idea that you can just take Hamas and keep it separate from Iran has always been a farce. Iran funds Hamas, and everybody knows it,” said the House’s number two Republican, Steve Scalise, during the parliamentary debate.

Iran’s funds were transferred from South Korea to Qatar as part of a September prisoner exchange between Tehran, which freed five American prisoners, and Washington, which freed five Iranians.

The unfrozen funds could only be used for humanitarian purposes.

However, in mid-October, shortly after the attack by Hamas and other Palestinian militias in Israel, Washington and Doha agreed that Iran would not be able to access the funds, stopping short of a full re-freeze.

President Joe Biden’s government had been criticized for having given Iran access to the funds that critics say could be used free up amounts for both Hamas and other Iran-aligned groups that operate in the region and that have been attacking US bases since the beginning of the offensive against the Gaza Strip.

However, after halting Iran’s access to the funds in October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Tehran had not yet spent a single dollar of the $6 billion.

Despite the historical relationship between Iran and Hamas, the US has acknowledged that no evidence has been found that Tehran was linked to the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. EFE

at/tw

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