10/09/2023

Secretary Blinken Denounces Claim $6 Billion in Iranian Assets Helped Hamas

The funds - once unfrozen - only will be available for things like food, medicine

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back against unsubstantiated claims that Iranian assets that were recently freed up facilitated Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, noting that none of the money has been spent yet and that it can be used only for humanitarian purposes.

"Not a single dollar from that account has actually been spent to date," Blinken said on ABC's 'This Week' program. "And, in any event, it's very carefully and closely regulated by the Treasury Department to make sure that it's only used for food, for medicine, for medical equipment."

A Hamas spokesman told The BBC that the group received direct support from Iran to conduct its attack. Blinken denounced Iran's long history of backing Hamas but emphasized that Iran had not yet used the funds that were recently made available.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.