Iran Used ‘Some’ Nuclear Deal Money To Fund Terror Campaigns
The Islamic Republic of Iran used some of the funds released to the country under the 2015 nuclear agreement to fund activity in the Middle East, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
Iran was provided approximately $150 billion in sanctions relief under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal in exchange for giving up some technical aspects of its nuclear weapons program. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry even admitted some of the money was likely to be spent on terrorism in January 2016, saying, “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that can be prevented.”
“There are indicators that some money that was freed up as a result of JCPOA has been put back into malign activity,” Dunford told Congress. “I’d be hard-pressed to find anything that Iran does that is good.”
The U.S. Department of State 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism also found that Iran “remained the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world.” These groups include Lebanese Hezbollah and other militias in the Middle East.