On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Hillary Clinton supporter and former Undersecretary of State Amb. Wendy Sherman stated the payment to Iran, which was used “as leverage to ensure that American — Americans who were detained in Iran got home safely, and none of that cash would be forthcoming until they come got home safely,” is something that “Secretary Clinton supports.”
Sherman said, “As far as Iran and this payment goes, my understanding, this happened after I left the administration, is that indeed there has long been a negotiation going on by the — our legal people with the court in the Hague over Iran claims for pre-Shah demise payment that was due them. In fact, the deal was made, and saved American taxpayers billions of dollars in what was resolved, and that the Obama administration made a very wise decision not to pay right away, but to use it as leverage to ensure that American — Americans who were detained in Iran got home safely, and none of that cash would be forthcoming until they come got home safely, and the reason that it was cash, is because we are not allowed to use American dollars, because Iran is not allowed to use the American banking system. That is something that I fully support, that our congress, and of course, our president supports, and Secretary Clinton supports. So, I know that there are concerns about the optics here, but this actually was very wise diplomacy on a completely separate track to resolve a negotiation that would benefit American taxpayers’ pocketbooks.”
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