WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and 17 of his colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford regarding their recent testimony in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
The senators raise serious concerns regarding the Obama Administration’s failure to notify top United States military officials about its $1.7 billion cash ransom payment to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism. Following reports that Iran has funneled this money into its military budget, the senators also note that the payment may further embolden Iran, resulting in our troops and allies confronting more lethal and better-equipped adversaries.
“While we understand that other agencies and departments would be in the lead for such a transaction, we are deeply concerned that President Obama and the rest of the administration did not think it was necessary to even notify the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States was about to provide the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $1.7 billion in cash,” the Senators wrote. “It seems clear that the Obama administration’s injection of substantial, liquid financial resources into Iran’s military budget also has significant and obvious implications for America’s national security interests and required military posture in the Middle East.”
In addition to Tillis, the letter was signed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), David Perdue (R-GA), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Michael Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), David Vitter (R-LA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and James Lankford (R-OK).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and 17 of his colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford regarding their recent testimony in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
The senators raise serious concerns regarding the Obama Administration’s failure to notify top United States military officials about its $1.7 billion cash ransom payment to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism. Following reports that Iran has funneled this money into its military budget, the senators also note that the payment may further embolden Iran, resulting in our troops and allies confronting more lethal and better-equipped adversaries.
“While we understand that other agencies and departments would be in the lead for such a transaction, we are deeply concerned that President Obama and the rest of the administration did not think it was necessary to even notify the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States was about to provide the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $1.7 billion in cash,” the Senators wrote. “It seems clear that the Obama administration’s injection of substantial, liquid financial resources into Iran’s military budget also has significant and obvious implications for America’s national security interests and required military posture in the Middle East.”
In addition to Tillis, the letter was signed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), David Perdue (R-GA), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Michael Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), David Vitter (R-LA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and James Lankford (R-OK).
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