PRESS RELEASE: EMET is Profoundly Disappointed in the Unlocking of $6 Billion in Funds for Iran in Ransom Payments

Press Release
August 11, 2023
Contact: Sarah Stern
(202) 601-7422
sstern@emetonline.org

EMET is Profoundly Disappointed in the Unlocking of $6 Billion in Funds for Iran in Ransom Payments

(August 11, 2023, Washington, DC) – As much as EMET feels the anguish of prisoners serving out unjust sentences in the notorious Evin prison, as well as that of the families of Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi, and Morad Tahbaz and two, as of yet, unidentified prisoners, we, at EMET, are profoundly disappointed that the United States is willing to offer $6 billion in ransom money to the nefarious Iranian regime.

We understand and stand in solidarity with the families of these prisoners. Yet, we have to make people aware and stand in solidarity against the evil regime of Iran. Who even knows the names of the more than 20,000 valiant protestors against the regime who have been arrested since the murder of Mahsa Amini, almost a year ago this September? Who knows and seems to care about the over 500 dissidents who have been murdered on the streets? Who knows about the untold number of Iranian freedom fighters who have been hanged in the public square?
These are people who have put their very lives on the line against this evil regime, and many of them have been raped and tortured in the notorious Evin prison, shot on the street, or hanged from the town’s square.
Where has been the White House’s concern for them?

We also know that the Iranian regime knows no bounds, and has attempted to kidnap former American officials on US soil, such as Ambassador John Bolton, Secretary Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hook, as well as some courageous Iranian expatriates such as the journalist and blogger Masih Alinejad.

We know that money is fungible. Iran is the lead sponsor of Islamic terrorism throughout the world, and we have little doubt that much of this money will end up training and buying weapons that will end up in the hands of The Al Quds Force, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, The Lions’ Den, The Mujahadeen Movement, etc.
Beyond that, the last International Atomic Energy Administration reports that Iran has been enriching uranium at the 83.7 percent level, a very far cry from the 3.67 level that Iran had vowed to in the JCPOA of 2015 and is perilously close to the 90 percent of enrichment that is nuclear bomb capable. We have little doubt that some of this money will be ending up in the Iranian nuclear bomb program, facilitating the development of a missile delivery system, and a weaponization program, and go towards installing more sophisticated centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment at the 90 percent level.

We also know that according to the 2015 Iranian Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, (INARA), any agreement made with the Islamic Republic of Iran must be reviewed before Congress. The White House has caught Congress off guard here and is making a verbal agreement with one of America’s three most notorious enemies, along with China and Russia. This is in direct violation of US law. INARA explicitly restricts the President from waving statutory sanctions with Iran for 30 days, giving Congress time to review and possibly reject any agreement.
Says Sarah Stern, Founder and President of EMET, “As much as we feel for the hostages, themselves, and their families, this is a historically awful development. It amounts to the largest ransom payment ever made in American history, one that will only encourage more hostage-taking by the evil Islamic Republic of Iran. We know that money is fungible and that this money will only be used to enrich Iran’s many terrorist proxies throughout the globe, and its nuclear program. Why do we have compassion for these families and not those of the more than 20,000 protectors arrested and tortured and the more than 500 protestors killed in the street, merely for crying out for democracy and freedom?”

About The Endowment for Middle East Truth
Founded in 2005, EMET is a pro-American, pro-Israel, and pro-human rights, foreign policy think tank and policy shop in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.emetonline.org