The State Dept Confirms The $400 Million Payment To Iran Was Contingent Upon Prisoners’ Release

After the State Department initially denied that it sent $400 million to Iran specifically for the release of American prisoners, there’s now a confirmation that the payment was “contingent upon” the prisoners’ release. But State Department spokesman John Kirby described the situation as a bit more complicated than a simple cash transfer.

Kirby said the $400 million price tag was negotiated separately from the negotiations about releasing the American prisoners. The U.S. then held onto the cash until the prisoners were out of Iran. It’s a semi-loophole, as Kirby explains they didn’t technically negotiate the $400 million payday for the release of the prisoners. This comes on the heels of The Wall Street Journal uncovering the specifics of the proposed deal, which ended with three American prisoners leaving Tehran in January. At a Thursday press conference, Kirby was direct in answering the press. He said the State Department did in fact give Iran the money for the prisoners.

Republicans have been very critical of the Obama Administration about the situation and called them out. Republican National Committee Spokesman Michael Short now describes the transaction as the “dictionary definition of a ransom payment and a complete contradiction of what they were saying just two weeks ago.” Donald Trump has yet to comment again on whether he saw a cargo plane or not.

(Via The Hill & Associated Press Twitter & New York Post)