US House passes resolution to block Iran’s access to $6 bn oil money after prisoner swap

The United States House of Representativeson Thursday (Nov 30) passed a resolution which would block Iran from ever accessing the $6 billion that Washington recently transferred to Qatar as part of a controversial prisoner swap which took place earlier this year.

The House Republicans pushed the measure in response to Tehran’s alleged role in the deadly October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.

In September, Iran and the US held a prisoner swap which saw the exchange of five American citizens who were detained in Tehran with the same number of Iranians held in Washington. The swap also included the unfreezing of at least $6 billion of Iranian money by US President Joe Biden’s administration.

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‘No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act’

The resolution titled ‘No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act’ in the lower chamber of Congress was passed with 307-119 votes as Republicans supposedly sought to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they called complicity in funding Iranian-backed terrorism in the Middle East.

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“With such instability in the region, the last thing we need to do is to give access to $6 billion to be diverted to more Iranian-sponsored terrorism,” said Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during the debate, as quoted by the Associated Press.

However, US officials have maintained they have not transferred even a single dollar to Iran yet and even when they do, it will be used for humanitarian needs.

But critics, including several House Republicans, have said that despite the money being used for humanitarian aid, it could free up other funds for Iran to provide support to Hamas.

This comes amid reports of Tehran’s alleged involvement and support for the Palestinian militant group ahead of their October 7 attacks on Israel.

The resolution also includes measures like imposing new sanctions on the funds to prevent the transfer of any monies to Iran and threatens to sanction any government or individual involved in the processing of the transfer of the funds.

Did US, Qatar agree to freeze Iran’s $6 billion after the prisoner swap?

The $6 billion frozen in South Korea had been generated by Iran through oil sales to Seoul. It was stuck after the US under former president Donald Trump reimposed sanctions as he withdrew from a landmark nuclear accord of 2015.

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However, days after Hamas attacked Israel, American media citing sources said that the US and the Qatari governments have agreed to block Iran from accessing any of the $6 billion it gained access to as part of a prisoner swap deal withoutany timeframe for how long the two governments plan to do so.

The Republican-backed resolution will now go to the Senate but may not receive any backing from the Democratic majority.

This comes as Democrats have defended the Biden administration’s decision to transfer the money in exchange for the American citizens held in Tehran saying that Iran has lost the leverage of holding US nationals as hostages.

(With inputs from agencies)