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© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.U.S. denies Iran claims of prisoner deal; UK plays it down
By JON GAMBRELL, ISABEL DEBRE AND MATTHEW LEE DUBAI, United Arab Emirates©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
28 Comments
Mr Kipling
Good news for all concerned.
Blacklabel
This story is true until the Biden administration can disprove it to our satisfaction. (see fake Russia bounty story as precedent.)
7 billion dollars in cash plus 4 Iranian prisoners in return for the 4 Americans. Let me guess, the USA already owes iran this money somehow, again?
RichardPearce
While I doubt that there was, or even will be, a deal naming names and funds, I'm also sure that there are going to be 'gestures' that include the mutual release of prisoners who's detentions have taken on political weight for both countries, and the 'voluntary' release of Iranian funds that the ICJ has repeatedly instructed the US its continued refusal to release violates international laws, IF the details on which illegal sanctions the US has to rescind can be worked out to bridge the gap between when the US announces the rescinding of those, and the ones that the US actually baldly stated were aimed at the Iranian nuclear power and isotopes program, and the time that the Iranian government can show its electorate that the rescinding is real this time.
Of course, if the extremely delicate process of getting an American sign off on the fairly obvious, that merely slapping another label on the same old sanctions didn't magically transform them into something not a violation of the JCPOA, doesn't turn out to be possible, any chance of things moving forward in a civil fashion disappears, and the pressure will be back on the ICJ to not just rule that the US owes staggering and ever growing amounts to Iran, but to give Iran the legal ability to seize American assets throughout the world.
lincolnman
Believe the Mullahs, believe Putin, believe Xi, believe Kim...
Is there any anti-democratic autocrat and tyrant that Trump supporters doubt?
Of course they also believe Biden will take away your burgers....
Blacklabel
Its so convenient that every time Dems want to make an illegal payment to terrorist countries or organizations it is framed as "money owed". and this money is readily available, in cash.
so while the attention is here on this supposedly false story, why dont we get some clarification for later:
How much money does the USA still "owe" Iran?
Are any payments required to have the approval of Congress?
Where in the budget is this money for payment to terrorists held?
lincolnman
Uh-huh...
*The Iran–Contra affair or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Republican Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the Khomeini government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo.*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair
Blacklabel
SALE of arms. not an illegal payment.
Nice dodge of all the recent Dem examples to take us back to the 80s for something irrelevant and not similar.
SuperLib
You'd have to he orettu dumb to believe this situation.
On another note, howdy to our Trump fans who have ignored this issue since Biden took office. Guess you finally had something to add.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
Lolol I remember certain posters claiming congress had a legitimate legal ground to overturn the election and the will of the people. Clearly they were wrong then and clearly they are wrong now when they make claims about illegal payments. They know nothing about the law.
Blacklabel
Do we still owe Iran money? if so, how much? Doesnt Congress need to approve payments to terrorist nations first? where is this money in the approved budget?
Simple questions to answer, instead of deflections to Trump, the 80s and elections.
SuperLib
How would know we know if we still owe Iran money? Seems like a silly question to ask.
Blacklabel
so every time Dems tell you they are just paying Iran money which we "owe" to them, you dont question that or require any proof? just "sure, ok"? even knowing that money going straight to terrorists?
thats odd, to say the least. Cant a Dem administration right now announce how much we owe Iran, why, and tell us how they plan to repay and from what budget? those are adult, non partisan questions.
Lack of curiosity about use of taxpayer dollars whenever its a Dem administration, I guess.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
No. Lack of interest in dealing with silly, absurd hypotheticals.
The article here clearly states the claims are untrue.
Blacklabel
does it really claim this is untrue? from this article.
"Although no formal proposal for a swap has yet been presented to officials in Washington, let alone been signed off on by the White House, the specificity of the reports from Iran suggested that working-level consideration of a deal is at least underway."
Despite the American denials, there have been signs that a deal on prisoners may be in the works based on Iranian officials' remarks in recent weeks.
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
Yes.
Trump supporters have a bad habit of getting mad about what might happen.
lincolnman
Uh-huh....
*United States Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Walsh was appointed Independent Counsel in December 1986 to investigate possible criminal actions by Reagan administration officials involved in the scheme. In the end, *several dozen administration officials were indicted, including then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Eleven convictions resulted...
Keep defending Putin and The Mullahs...it's what Trump supporters do...
Pukey2
I really feel for Nazarin. What she and her family have gone through is pure mental torture. In and out of jail, non-stop, and when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, the cave closes yet again. It's getting to the point where you don't feel any hope even when there are signs of hope.
Wolfpack
Ahhh - here come the pallets of cash! You know Biden can’t help himself. The Mullahs will need that money to go after the last American helicopter leaving out of Afghanistan.
Toasted Heretic
It's so convenient that the biggest terrorist country of all can frame others seeking payment as terrorist.
As for Zaghari-Ratcliffe, she should be released immediately, with all charges dropped. Boris Johnson's previous clumsy comments have not helped her situation at all.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41890885
takeda.shingen.1991@gmail.com
Even if this were true, at least he's not giving piles of cash and weapons to the folks who did 9/11.
You really want to get into paying money to terrorists?
stormcrow
Don’t visit Iran unless you have a death wish. The same goes for North Korea.
Toasted Heretic
Depends. From friends and people I know who have visited there, the Iranians (in general) are very welcoming. Like here, you will be asked what you think of their country, and they will often invite you to dine with them. They will ask a lot of questions about your country (esp. if it's the USA) and obviously, like anywhere else, you are advised to be diplomatic. And maybe not talk politics.
Certainly, all the Iranians I knew (not all Muslim, btw) were much like anyone else from around the world.
The regime, on the other hand - it's not one to aspire to. Neither was the Reza Pahlavi one, which was feted by US and other countries.
lincolnman
And one more Trump supporter jumps on the Iran bandwagon and parrots Iran and Russian propaganda...
Isn't it unfortunate that they would spread this disinformation solely designed to harm the US?
But since Trump had his summit with Putin where he said he believed Putin over his own US intel agencies, it's no wonder...
lincolnman
Hmmmm......
The nation’s top national security agencies released a joint statement on Tuesday saying that a monthslong cyber attack on software company SolarWinds "was likely Russian in origin."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-security-agencies-solarwinds-likely-russia
Trump supporters just can't help themselves defending Russia over their own government...
theFu
I don't feel like President Biden needs to make any progress with Iran. The current situation is fine and will be for the next 40 yrs.
I feel bad for for all the normal people in Iran. They are in the grips of a religious-authoritarian govt. I don't see any way out for Iranian leaders. They will never give up, so their people will suffer, indefinitely.
I feel bad for Cubans in the same way.
The solution for both these places is easy, but impossible for the current leadership to accomplish.