Leading members of Congress suspect a portion of a recent $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran may have been used to help arm and support Yemeni terrorists who recently fired missiles on a U.S. Navy ship in the Red Sea, according to a new congressional inquiry that seeks to determine how U.S. taxpayer funds are being used by Iran to boost its global terror operation.

Iran is believed to have used a large portion of the $1.7 billion, suspected to have been paid by the United States as part of a ransom to free U.S. hostages, to fund its global terror operation and strengthen its military, according to conversations with lawmakers who told the Washington Free Beacon that U.S. taxpayer funds are likely being used to sponsor attacks on American military forces.

The weekend attack on the U.S. Navy by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has sparked another official inquiry surrounding the cash payment to Iran, with a group of 17 senators now seeking to obtain an official assessment by the Pentagon of how Iran has allocated this cash to its military operations.

Lawmakers, led by Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) and Ted Cruz (R., Texas), are petitioning the Pentagon to provide a full analysis of Iran’s military activity since last summer’s nuclear agreement went into effect.