![]() doesn't yet have evidence that Iran was directly involved. "There's a degree of complicity here writ large," Kirby told reporters Monday of Iran's potential involvement in the attack.īut he said the U.S. Iran provides up to $100 million annually to Hamas and other terrorist groups, according to a 2021 State Department report. In this moment, we don't have anything that shows us that Iran was directly involved in this attack, in planning it or in carrying it out, but that's something we're looking at very carefully, and we've got to see where the facts lead." "Hamas wouldn't be Hamas without the support it's had for many years from Iran. "Iran and Hamas have a long relationship," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. has designated it a terrorist organization. Iran funds and provides weapons to Hamas, an Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. On Monday, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said "handing over $6 billion to Iran only helps the cause" and called on the Biden administration to refreeze the funds. "To think that they're not moving money around is irresponsible," Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, made similar comments on the campaign trail.įormer President Donald Trump said he would not be surprised if Iran put the "tremendous wealth that they just accumulated" toward the violence in Israel. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, told reporters on Saturday. "You can say certain funds can't be used, but you can use other funds that may be freed up as a result," Florida Gov. ![]() ![]() A senior State Department official told CBS News on Saturday that "it will take many months for Iran to spend down this money" because of the "due diligence involved and the complexity of what have to be specific humanitarian transactions through this channel." What have Republican critics said?Ī number of Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for releasing the funds, claiming it freed up resources for Iran to support the attack.
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