Biden’s $6 Billion Deal with Iran May Have Implications for the 2024 Election
President Biden greets union workers after a speech at the Philadelphia Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 20, 2023 (Andrew McKeough/AKSM Photography).
As five prisoners returned home from Iran in exchange for $6 billion in frozen oil funds, Republican criticism hints at implications for the upcoming elections.
Article by Julia O’Keefe, Senior Election Correspondent
FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Five American prisoners were freed and returned home from Iran Monday. The Biden Administration exchanged $6 billion in frozen oil funds and five Iranians held as prisoners in the U.S. for the Americans to set foot back on U.S soil.
The prisoners included Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Shargi, and two others who wished to remain anonymous. Upon arriving in Fort Belvoir, VA Tuesday morning, the freed five united with family and friends and posed for a photo, cheering “freedom”.
According to NPR, Namazi, a businessman imprisoned in Iran since 2015, said, “What I want more than anything is assurance that no one else will know the interminable anguish that my family and I experienced. Iran has mastered the nasty game of caging innocent Americans and other foreign nationals, and commercializing their freedom”.
The money exchanged was originally money South Korea owed Iran for oil purchased before the U.S. imposed sanctions on transactions in 2019. However, the money was never paid to Iran. The U.S. Treasury says it will closely monitor how Iran spends its funds, while Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said he will use the money how he wants.
“This money belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Raisi said through an interpreter according to NPR. “Naturally, we will decide - the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide to spend it wherever we need it.”
Raisi told journalists the deal could “definitely help in building trust” between the two nations, according to AP News. However, it is almost certain that tensions between the two nations will remain high. The U.S. and Iran are involved in various current disputes, including Tehran’s nuclear program, which now has uranium levels dangerously close to weapons-grade levels.
Although the family and friends of those who returned home are incredibly thankful for Biden’s efforts to get them back on U.S. soil, this exchange brought criticism from Biden’s political opponents. Republicans see the deal as “rewarding Iran’s provocative detention of U.S. citizens”, per NPR. Heading into the 2024 Presidential Election, the issue could have severe implications for the Biden Administration. With Republican disagreement, it is likely the party will use this move to argue Biden’s political weakness.
Texas Republican and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul remains skeptical of the deal, saying it creates a “direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage taking,” according to Michele Kelemen, reporter for NPR. Considering Iran is one of America’s top adversaries, Republicans think it a risky decision. Presidents must wage the consequences of political decisions like this, asking tough questions to deter possible future hostage situations or scenarios.
Ultimately, Biden does not think the consequences outweigh the reward, and despite the political backlash, his move received warm thanks from the prisoners’ relatives.
“Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” Biden said in a statement released as the plane carrying the prisoners touched down in Virginia.
The released prisoners were placed “in the care of the Department of Defense and undergoing post-isolation support activities,” according to the Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens via CNN. “We saved seven Americans,” he said. “That’s a good-news story.”