Ernst Statement on U.S. Payment of $400 Million to Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement following news that the Obama administration reportedly gave $400 million to Iran as four Americans detained in Tehran were freed:

“It is incredibly concerning that at the same time the Iranian government was releasing four Americans that were detained in Tehran, this administration reportedly proceeded to give $400 million to Iran and kept it secret from the American people. The timing of this cash transfer is too coincidental and is another sign that this administration is willing to accommodate people who wish us harm. Not only have they taken the sanctions off of Iran’s radical revolutionary Islamic regime which funds terrorists all around the world and calls for the destruction of both the United States and our closest ally Israel, the Administration now reportedly provides a cash incentive to hold American citizens hostage.

“The bottom line is that Iran cannot be trusted, which is why we should not have made the misguided deal that sets them on a path toward acquiring nuclear weapons and puts Americans and our allies at risk.”

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