According to multiple media reports, the Biden Administration has negotiated a deal with Iran to swap five “unjustly detained” Americans in exchange for several jailed Iranians and access to approximately $6 billion in sanctioned oil revenue that’s being held in South Korea.
When the news broke last week, U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) expressed her concerns that the $6 billion being paid to Iran was “ransom” paid to Iran in exchange for the five captive Americans:
“While I will always join my fellow Americans in welcoming home our citizens held hostage around the world, I’m deeply troubled by the naive ‘deal’ the Biden Administration reportedly struck,” Sen. Britt said in a statement. “Handing $6 billion to the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism is a reckless and dangerous decision that threatens the lives of Americans and our allies across the globe. This appeasement will only embolden our adversaries and invite hostile actors to take more American hostages in the future, as they know doing so could score them massive payouts from this Administration. As we near the anniversary of his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, President [Joe] Biden has once again shown the world that his failed foreign policy is built on a foundation of weakness. It’s time to get back to achieving peace through strength.”
The agreement comes after at least two years of negotiations, according to CNN and the New York Times, which first reported various elements of the negotiations.
The five Americans all are dual citizens of Iran. They have reportedly been transferred from Iran’s notoriously harsh Evin Prison to a hotel in Tehran, where they will be held for a few weeks under house arrest before being allowed to leave the country.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that the detained individuals are:
· Siamak Namazi
· Emad Sharghi
· Morad Tahbaz
· and two Americans whose families don’t want their identities made public.
The ongoing negotiations are considered very dynamic and far from a done deal. The U.S. maintains that these U.S. citizens should have never been detained in the first place.
The Iranian regime has a 43-year history of using hostage-taking to advance its foreign policy.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) also opposed the deal.
“While we always welcome the release of American hostages − if they are in fact released after President Biden pays Iran $6 billion in ransom − this craven act of appeasement will only embolden the ayatollahs to take more hostages and use these ill-gotten gains to attack our troops, fund terrorism and arm Russia,” said Sen. Cotton. “This cycle will continue until President Biden stops dancing to Iran’s tune and starts responding firmly and decisively to their aggression.”
Some conservatives have questioned whether these negotiations with Iran are part of a broader effort to revive the failed Iran nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration.
Katie Britt was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022.
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