(Daily360.com) President Biden and his administration are being heavily criticized for enabling billions of dollars to go Iran as a result of a sanctions waiver. The move provides as much as $10 billion in money that would otherwise be frozen. Iraq can pay Iran for electricity with those funds. The waiver program has been in effect since November 2018, and President Biden renewed the waiver in November 2023 and again in March.
Rebels that are funded by Iran attacked American military and Israel, an ally of the United States. That is the main concern for critics of Biden’s decision to renew the waiver program; it provides additional funds to Iran while they are actively in conflict with Israel. The funds are being sent to Iran a month and a half following the death of three U.S. military service members were killed by Iran-backed rebels in Jordan.
Iran launched a retaliatory attack against Israel on April 13 that includes missiles and drones, but 99% of them were intercepted before causing any damage. The waiver is considered a necessary tool to help Iraq move away from Iran-provided energy, but it takes time for Iraq to produce their own oil and gas. The Biden administration further states that the funds are only usable for humanitarian reasons.
The State Department said that it is not true that any of this money has or will flow into Iran. The department said the accounts have “strict oversight” and can only be used for purchasing food, medicine, medical devices and other forms of non-sanctionable goods. They further stated that the purpose of the sanction waiver is to help Iraq gain energy independence and was started while Donald Trump was in office.
Furthermore, the White House made a statement of support regarding Biden’s foreign policy actions. They state that the President has issued more than 500 sanctions against Iran since taking office. Senator Dan Sullivan said on a podcast that Biden needs to impose more sanctions against Iran, but is too afraid to do so. Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary for the Biden administration, said that the U.S. will impose new sanctions against Iran in retaliation for the attack against Israel.
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