Trump Blames Obama as U.S. Launches ‘Defensive Strikes’ Against Iran

Trump’s remarks also revived debate over one of the Obama administration’s most controversial foreign policy decisions: the 2016 transfer of $1.7 billion in cash and foreign currency to Iran following the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement.

The Obama administration acknowledged at the time that the money was delivered in pallets of foreign cash because sanctions had effectively blocked Iran from accessing the international financial system.

The first installment, totaling $400 million, was transferred to Tehran on Jan. 17, 2016, the same day Iran released four American prisoners. Additional payments totaling $1.3 billion followed in subsequent weeks.

Obama officials maintained the payment stemmed from a decades-old legal settlement involving Iranian funds frozen after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

However, critics argued the timing effectively amounted to ransom payments that incentivized hostage-taking by the Iranian regime.

Congressional Republicans blasted the move at the time, saying the administration empowered a state sponsor of terrorism while publicly insisting the payments were unrelated to the prisoner release.

Then-Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ed Royce introduced legislation seeking to prohibit future administrations from making similar payments.

“The U.S. government should not be in the business of negotiating with terrorists and paying ransom money in exchange for the release of American hostages,” Rubio said in 2016.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly argued that Obama’s Iran policies — including the nuclear deal and sanctions relief — helped finance Tehran’s regional military expansion, proxy groups, and missile development programs.