Biden Treasury Dept official testifies 'any dollar' Iran gets in aid will fund 'violent' activities

The Treasury Department this week admitted that immoderate costs sent to Iran straight spell toward backing "violent" activities of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps "before it’s ever utilized for their group and humanitarian aid." 

Sen. Tim Scott is now demanding answers from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, aft Deputy Secretary Adewale Adeyemo testified astir Iran's usage of humanitarian assistance earlier nan U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee connected Tuesday. 

Adeyemo testified successful consequence to questions from Scott, R-S.C., astir nan "fungible quality of alleged humanitarian assistance." 

"What we’ve seen clip and clip from nan Iranian regime, is that they neglect to provender their group and they put nan IRGC first," Adeyemo said. "Any dollar they person will spell towards convulsive activity earlier they woody pinch their people." 

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Adeyemo said that is "partially why almost nary of nan humanitarian money has been utilized for humanitarian purposes, because they don’t attraction astir getting narcotics and nutrient for their people." 

"In Iran, they’ve proven that immoderate dollar they get, that they person nonstop entree to successful nan country, will beryllium utilized for nan IRGC earlier it’s ever utilized for their people," Adeyemo added. 

Republican statesmanlike campaigner Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is interviewed by Fox News, connected July 18, 2023 up of Scott's municipality hallway successful Salem, New Hampshire. (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)

Fox News Digital obtained a missive Scott sent to Yellen pursuing his testimony. 

"Treasury plays a captious domiciled successful ensuring nan nationalist information of our state done its toolkit to extremity illicit financing and curb nan travel of costs that support bad actors," Scott said, adding that he still has "serious concerns pinch U.S.-enabled efforts that summation Iran’s entree to sanctioned funds—funds that straight support Iran’s panic proxies passim nan Middle East." 

Scott said Adeyemo’s grounds "has only elevated" his concerns, noting that Adeyemo made it "abundantly clear that nan existent sanctions alleviation and humanitarian assistance strategy provided to Iran are not viable solutions, and alternatively deteriorate U.S. nationalist information interests." 

The U.S. Treasury Department building successful Washington connected June 6, 2019. The United States has imposed coercion sanctions connected a family web spanning 7 individuals and businesses crossed Lebanon and South America, alleged to person provided financial support to nan militant group Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

"Alarmingly, nether your watch, Iran has accrued its lipid exports, pinch China serving arsenic nan largest purchaser," Scott wrote. "This summation has led to billions successful further gross for nan regime, which, arsenic Treasury testified, will almost surely spell to money convulsive panic activity." 

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Scott said that fixed nan "proven track-record Iran has connected redirecting alleged humanitarian assistance to ‘violent activity,’ arsenic characterized by Treasury, we must run nether nan presumption that each dollar made disposable to Iran is different dollar that will beryllium utilized to put U.S. servicemembers successful harm’s measurement aliases frighten our allies, particularly Israel." 

"In ray of this, I americium requesting an accounting of each world high-value Iranian assets astir nan world that are presently blocked by U.S. sanctions arsenic good arsenic further steps Treasury will now return to actively relationship for existent costs that person already been released to Iran," Scott wrote. "Not a azygous dollar, euro, aliases dinar, sanctioned by nan United States should ever beryllium released to Iran erstwhile this Administration actively recognizes that immoderate money to Iran supports terrorism."

But nan Treasury Department said location are 2 different types of costs — humanitarian aid, which they opportunity are tied up successful banks extracurricular of Iran that would get sent into nan state by 3rd parties, and immoderate money that is already wrong Iran. 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a gathering pinch atomic scientists and unit of nan Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, successful Tehran, Iran, connected Sunday, June 11.  (Office of nan Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Reuters )

A Treasury charismatic pointed Fox News Digital to a abstracted conception of Adeyemo's grounds successful which he says nan humanitarian money is "tied up successful financial institutions" and insisted that "none of that money will ever spot its measurement to Iran." 

As for nan different type of funds, Adeyemo said that while successful nan U.S. "money is fungible, successful Iran, they've proven that immoderate dollar they get that they person nonstop entree to successful nan state will beryllium utilized for nan IRGC earlier it's ever utilized for their people." 

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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., asked Adeyemo if humanitarian assistance could ever beryllium utilized arsenic money already held wrong Iran, to which Adeyeo replied: "No. None of those dollars person gone to Iran. None of those dollars will spell to Iran."