United States President, Donald Trump, has accused former President Barack Obama of empowering Iran by delivering hundreds of billions of dollars in cash payments while in office, as tensions between the United States and Iran remain dangerously high.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, President Trump claimed that Iran had been “playing games” with the US for 47 years before finding the “greatest sucker of them all” in Obama.
He alleged that Mr Obama’s administration “jettisoned Israel and all other Allies” while giving Iran a “major and very powerful new lease on life”.
President Trump claimed that “hundreds of billions of dollars, and 1.7 billion dollars in green cash, flown into Tehran, was handed to them on a silver platter.”He further alleged that the cash was “taken off the plane in suitcases and satchels”, and that Iranians “had never seen money like this, and never will again.
“The $1.7 billion figure cited by President Trump refers to a 2016 settlement between the Obama administration and Iran, stemming from a decades-old financial dispute dating back to the 1970s.
The funds originally belonged to Tehran and had been frozen since before the Iranian revolution. In January 2016, the Obama administration confirmed that the $1.7 billion settlement was delivered in physical cash using foreign currencies, including euros and Swiss francs.
An initial $400 million was delivered on 17 January 2016 – the same day Iran released four American prisoners. While the Obama administration initially maintained the two events were unrelated, officials later acknowledged that the timing was used as leverage to secure the prisoners’ release.
The remaining $1.3 billion, representing interest on the original sum, was paid in additional cash instalments in the following weeks.
The “hundreds of billions” referenced by President Trump appears to refer to the broader economic impact of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, which the Obama administration negotiated.
That agreement lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear programme.President Trump’s latest attack on Obama comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Several Gulf countries reported drone attacks on Saturday, with Qatar’s Defence Ministry stating that a drone struck a cargo ship in a southern port, sparking a fire. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates said they repelled drone attacks.
The UAE Defence Ministry said its air defences dealt with two drones coming from Iran, representing the latest in renewed attacks on the Gulf country.
Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy reiterated its warning that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on US bases in the region.According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, President Trump concluded his post with a warning: “They will be laughing no longer.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to speak with President Trump within the hour following the post, a source told The Jerusalem Post.
Iran’s response to the latest US peace proposal was delivered first to Pakistan and then to the United States on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported. The White House has yet to announce a response.
In the same post, President Trump also criticised his immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden, describing him as “Sleepy Joe Biden.
” He accused Iran of “killing our people with their roadside bombs, destroying protests, and recently wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors”, a reference to the Iranian regime’s crackdown on popular protests in December and January.
President Trump, who withdrew the United States from the JCPOA during his first term, has consistently criticised the deal, describing it as a “horrible one-sided deal.”
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