Biden Gave Iran $10 Billion in Sanctions Relief Days After Trump Won Election
The outgoing Biden-Harris administration gave Iran $10 billion in sanctions relief just days after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, despite Iran’s ongoing attacks against Israel and support for terrorist organizations.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined on November 8 that “it is in the national security interest of the United States” to waive mandatory economic sanctions that bar Iraq from transferring upward of $10 billion to Iran in electricity import payments.
Though the first Trump administration did green-light the same waiver—causing tension with some congressional Republicans—it narrowly tailored the waiver to restrict Iranian access to the cash. The Biden State Department tweaked the waiver last year to allow Tehran to convert the funds from Iraqi dinars to euros, then hold those euros in bank accounts based in Oman. Access to a widely traded currency like the euro enables Iran to more easily spend the cash in international markets. Under the first Trump administration, Iran had to keep the cash in an escrow account in Baghdad, making it more difficult to access.
The Biden State Department maintains that Iran is only permitted to use the funds for humanitarian needs, including medicines and other supplies. Republican critics argue that money is fungible, meaning that Tehran will have an easier time diverting its dwindling cash reserves to its regional terror proxies, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, should it have access to the sanctioned cash for other purposes.
The sanctions waiver also came just days after the United Nations determined that Iran was able to give the Houthi rebels in Yemen “unprecedented” support after the Biden administration waived $6 billion in sanctions on Iran.
The Houthi rebels attacked global commercial shipping through the Red Sea and have launched ballistic missiles at Israeli population centers. Biden delisted the Iranian-backed rebels as a terrorist group upon taking office in 2021.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Cadillac’s 122-year history has had its share of ups and downs. In its prime, the automaker led the industry, with its luxury vehicles incorporating pioneering technology and quality craftsmanship. At its lowest, Cadillac sold warmed-over versions of middling GM products.
It seems the luxury brand’s dog days are over, and it’s once again aiming to prove itself deserving of its onetime “Standard of the World” slogan. This starts with the Celestiq, a hand-built fastback that has its sights set on Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Cadillac appears determined to maintain its momentum in the ultraluxury space, as evidenced by the Sollei concept.
The two-door Sollei is effectively a Celestiq convertible as it sits on the same underpinnings as Caddy’s four-door flagship. Despite having two fewer points of entry, the Sollei retains the Celestiq’s 130.2-inch wheelbase and 217.2-inch overall length. New bodywork aft of the A-pillars gives the Sollei its own distinct design. Softer lines and a boattail rear end bring gravitas to the droptop concept, which pays homage to the gargantuan Cadillac convertibles of the past while shunning retro design cues.
Like seemingly everything else about the Sollei, its doors are massive, each measuring five feet, eight inches long. Their sizable openings offer easy access to the palatial rear seats. Credit the long wheelbase, as well as the space-efficient arrangement of the 111.0-kWh battery pack’s pouch-style cells that carry over from the Celestiq.
