In a move that probably surprises no one, the State Department admitted that the U.S. paid Iran $400 million cash once the four American hostages were released.
This comes two weeks after President Obama insisted the U.S. did not pay Iran a “ransom” to secure the release of the Americans.
At a press briefing on Thursday, reporters grilled State Department spokesman John Kirby.
“In basic English, you’re saying you wouldn’t give them $400 million in cash until the prisoners were released, correct?” one asked.
“That’s correct,” Kirby responded.
The administration had repeatedly denied the timing of airlifting the cash to Iran at the time of the hostages’ release was anything but a coincidence.
“We do not pay ransom. We didn’t here, and we won’t in the future,” the president said at an Aug. 4 press conference.
“It wasn’t a secret. We were completely open with everybody about it and it is interesting to me how suddenly this became a story again,” he said, seeming to wag a finger at the press for daring to question the obvious.
Kirby insisted Thursday that the “the two negotiations were separate,” maintaining that the cash was part of an arms deal with Iran from 1979. Kirby’s comments followed a report Wednesday that U.S. officials held a cargo plane carrying the cash until the hostages were actually freed.
Despite the denials, the incident had all the markings of a ransom payment and many thought the administration should just come clean. Fox News’ Brit Hume was among those calling for an end to the masquerade.
State Dept. might as well just admit it was ransom at this point. Everyone can see that it was: https://t.co/Yjx7dzYXlo
— Brit Hume (@brithume) August 18, 2016
Hume didn’t see any way around calling the exchange anything but a ransom.
@brithume Brit, it was Irans own money. Therefore it isn’t ransom by definition.
— #HTownTakeover (@Coogcheese) August 18, 2016
Sorry, definition of ransom is simply money paid to gain a captive’s release. https://t.co/N9vLtpWR01
— Brit Hume (@brithume) August 18, 2016
Others on social media appeared to agree.
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@brithume Even if it wasn’t ransom (it was), they still lied to us. Separate negotiations? pic.twitter.com/tHSy7a8Cqt
— Silent Majority (@U_S_A_1st) August 18, 2016
@brithume It was more than that. It was the payment that turned the US into a state sponsor of terror!
— WeirdRalph® (@weirdralph) August 18, 2016
How dumb are #WeThePeople considered to be? https://t.co/4CLHu3JvLz
— Ron Read (@golfdinosaurrr) August 18, 2016
@brithume pic.twitter.com/TjUs5LJ7S1
— Frank (@frank_n_steen) August 18, 2016
@brithume they can’t even admit who edited their video tapes.
— Kenneth Cromwell (@KWCromwell) August 18, 2016
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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