A Washington Post editorial published Wednesday suggested a transfer of $400 million in cash earlier this year, which the administration later admitted was linked to the release of U.S. prisoners, may have whetted Iran's appetite for jailing more Americans.Gee... you enable a bully and you get more bullying? Who would have thought!?!?!
Recall that the Obama administration worked out a prisoner swap for Americans being held in Iran but also settled a lawsuit stemming from a very old arms deal. The two things were allegedly separate but when it was revealed that $400 million in cash had been loaded onto a plane and delivered to Iran the same day as the prisoner release the administration was forced to deny the payment was a ransom.
The Wall Street Journal revealed in early August that even people within the Department of Justice worried that the timing would make the transfer of cash look like ransom. Meanwhile, there were several indications that Iran did indeed see the transfer as a ransom payment, including a statement by an Iranian general who said, "This money was returned for the freedom of the U.S. spy [Jason Rezaian] and it was not related to the [nuclear] negotiations."
I feel lied too