<p>The Obama Administration handed Iran $1.7 billion this month for what it claims to be the settling of a legal claim dating back to the 1970s. But the fact that this payout corresponded to the release of five jailed Americans leads many to believe that the hefty sum was a ransom. ;</p>
<p>As we know, President Obama has a habit of releasing dangerous criminals and capitulating to ransom requests &ndash; even when it comes to traitors like Bowe Bergdahl.</p>
<p>&#8220;US Bought Freedom of Spies by Releasing $1.7 billion of Iran&rsquo;s Frozen Assets&#8221; screams the headline by ;Tehran news agency <em>Fars</em>. ;Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi of Iran&rsquo;s infamous Basij militia argues that America paid this hefty sum in exchange for &ldquo;its spies held by Iran.&rdquo; This statement directly contradicts Obama&rsquo;s denial that the settling of an old weapons supply agreement ;was tantamount to ransom. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The annulment of sanctions against Iran&rsquo;s Bank Sepah and reclaiming of $1.7 billion of Iran&rsquo;s frozen assets after 36 years showed that the US doesn&rsquo;t understand anything but the language of force,&rdquo; says Naqdi. &ldquo;This money was returned for the freedom of the US spy.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The photo above shows Jason Rezaian, a <em>Washington Post</em> reporter who was freed after spending a year and a half of incarceration in an Iranian prison. He was arrested last year for espionage. ;Pastor Saeed Abedini, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, researcher Matthew Trevithick, and Iranian-American Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari were also released. The four were charged with various crimes against Iran&rsquo;s national security. ;</p>
<p>Former FBI agent Robert Levinson is still unaccounted for. ;</p>
<p>The fact that the prisoner release last weekend coincided with the nuclear deal&rsquo;s Implementation Day has raised questions about the massive payout. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton wonders if the $1.7 billion was &ldquo;part of the ransom that we had to pay to get innocent Americans back from Iranian captivity.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>I&rsquo;d like to note that the &lsquo;legal settlement&rsquo; included an alleged $1.3 billion in interest.  ;</em></p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re awaiting details from the administration on the ransom paid for their freedom,&rdquo; said House Speaker spokeswoman AshLee Strong. She told the <em>Washington Post</em> that Obama was &ldquo;giving Iran a roughly $1.7 billion cash infusion&rdquo; for the release of the jailed Americans. ;</p>
<p>Press secretary Josh Earnest denies that the payout was a ransom. &ldquo;Paul Ryan has suggested this was a ransom payment,&rdquo; he said on ABC News. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s wrong about that.&rdquo; ;ABC host Jon Karl put Earnest on the spot with his response: ;&ldquo;The Department of State announced this payment of $1.7 billion to the government of Iran just before the plane carrying the freed Americans landed in Geneva. You&rsquo;re really telling me that this is an absolute coincidence that this payment just happened to coincide with the precise moment when the American prisoners were flying to freedom?&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Earnest admitted that it was &ldquo;not a coincidence&rdquo; and explained that Implementation Day &ldquo;created a series of diplomatic opportunities for the United States that we&rsquo;ve capitalized on.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We used that opening and we used that deeper diplomatic engagement to secure the release of five American citizens who were being unjustly held inside of Iran,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;And we used that diplomatic opening to resolve a longstanding financial claim that the Iranians had against the United States.&rdquo; ;</p>
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