Blinken: Even if Swap Frees up Money for Iran’s Bad Behavior, ‘They’ve Always Been Entitled to Use’ The Money They Got

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CBS Mornings,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to concerns that the money given to Iran by the prisoner swap will free up other funds to be spent on malign activity, such as supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine by stating that “even allowing for that, these monies, these proceeds from Iran’s oil sales, they’ve always been entitled to use.” And Iran has always used money for bad purposes.

Co-host Tony Dokoupil said, “If I give you $5 that you can spend on humanitarian aid, that frees up another $5 to spend on, I don’t know, drones, missiles, weapons that you might send to your friend Russia to fight in Ukraine.”

Blinken responded, “Again, even allowing for that, these monies, these proceeds from Iran’s oil sales, they’ve always been entitled to use. Just as a practical matter, they couldn’t. But the other thing is, whether we like it or not — and we don’t like it — the Iranians have always found ways to use money, whether there are sanctions or not, for military purposes. And we are taking steps every single day around the world to try to stop or disrupt the kinds of things that they’re engaged in — support for terrorism, destabilizing countries — that are having a profoundly negative effect around the world.”

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