Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia has expressed his opposition to President Biden’s prisoner swap deal with Iran. In an interview with Politico, Manchin stated, “The prisoner swap, the $6 billion, I never was for that.”
In September, the Biden administration reached a deal with Iran to unfreeze $6 billion in exchange for the release of five American prisoners. However, the unfrozen money was only allowed to be used for humanitarian-related purposes, such as providing food or other necessities.
The deal came under heavy criticism after Hamas, which is backed by Iran, launched a surprise attack on Israel, a major U.S. ally, on October 7th. Both Republicans and some Democrats criticized President Biden for his decision to unfreeze the money.
Manchin, along with 23 other senators, introduced the Revoke Iranian Funding Act last week, aiming to rescind the licenses that authorized the release of the $6 billion to Iran. In a statement, Manchin emphasized the importance of holding Iran accountable for its support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. He stated, “Our bipartisan legislation will halt efforts to provide billions of dollars to Iran and make sure Congress has the information to act against the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. We must do everything we can to protect our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, also voiced concerns about supporting Iran or providing any assets to Hamas or Hezbollah, as both are proxies of Iran.
The White House has assured that Iran has not accessed the $6 billion that was unfrozen in South Korea and transferred to Qatar. An agreement was reached between the U.S. and Qatar to refreeze the money. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo stated, “The money isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” during a closed-door meeting with House Democrats.
It remains to be seen how the Revoke Iranian Funding Act will progress and if there will be further action to address the prisoner exchange agreement.
