State Department spokesman Mark Toner could not say Wednesday that the Obama administration’s $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran has not gone to fund at least some terrorist activity.
"Do you have any visibility into what happened to the cash of the payments to Iran once it got to the Iranians?" Reuters reporter Arshad Mohammed asked. "Do you know where the money went?"
"No. Not categorically, but we’ve talked about this," Toner said. "What we have said about that is that we believe, is our assessment, again, without being able to say a hundred percent that it’s the case, that the money that was returned to Iran as part of this settlement has gone primarily to bolster the economy which has been in many senses, debilitated by years of sanctions. Again, that’s our assessment."
Mohammed followed up by asking if any of the money went to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which has been linked to terrorist activity around the world.
"Can you rule out that some of the money may have gone to the IRGC or groups that you regard as foreign terrorist organizations?" Mohammed asked.
"Again, I would say that I, by saying that we can’t categorically say one hundred percent the money’s gone to bolster the economy or for economic reasons, that I can’t categorically rule out that it’s gone to the IRGC or other groups," Toner said.
Toner’s next comment added to the questions surrounding the payment to Iran.
"We continue to have concerns about Iran’s behavior apart from the agreement that we reached on the nuclear deal," Toner said. "Iran continues to exhibit bad behavior in the region."
The Obama administration paid Iran $1.7 billion earlier this year to settle a decades-old failed arms deal as leverage to secure the release of American hostages held by Tehran. New details about the payment emerged this week.