Republican senators are launching a probe into President Biden’s decision to issue a sanctions waiver to Iran, granting access to more than $10 billion, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
The probe comes after the White House issued the third sanctions waiver to let Iraq pay Iran for electricity through non-Iraqi banks, less than a month ago.
Led by Republican Senator Tim Scott, the group of 13 lawmakers is pressing the State and Treasury Departments for exactly how much money Iran will be permitted to access in the next several months.
The probe is backed by several Republican foreign policy leaders, including Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote: “First, the waiver makes restricted Iranian funds more accessible to the Ayatollah’s regime, at a time when Iranian-backed aggression in the region is at a peak. Second, the administration appears to be disregarding congressional intent that any payments made to Iran remain severely restricted.”
Iranian proxy groups have increased their attacks in the region since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 – with its attacks on American personnel in Jordan and vessels in the Red Sea.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Erik Kurilla recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran remains undeterred in its support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis – and is not paying a price for its nefarious activities in the region.
While the Biden administration has maintained that the regime in Tehran can only access the money for humanitarian purposes, the letter suggests that the White House "appears to be disregarding congressional intent that any payments made to Iran remain severely restricted".
On that front, foreign policy expert Walid Phares argued on X that the US – alongside Israel and the “Arab Coalition” – could defeat Iran’s proxy militias in the Middle East in one month.
“But the #IranDeal & the #IranLobby are paralyzing the administration unfortunately. In 2025, a possible change in policy may occur. Until then, the #IslamicRepublic is not going to be deterred,” Phares wrote.
