“With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well,” President Obama said on Jan. 17.
Although he did not disclose the $400 million cash payment, Obama did suggest the United States would give money to Iran.
“The United States and Iran are now settling a longstanding Iranian government claim against the United States government. Iran will be returned its own funds, including appropriate interest, but much less than the amount Iran sought,” said Obama at the time.
“For the United States, this settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran,” he added.
The release of the prisoners was portrayed as a diplomatic breakthrough by Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama administration. The Americans who were released included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, Idaho pastor Saeed Abedini, and former Marine Corps Sergeant Amir Hekmati. The United States released seven Iranian citizens and dropped extradition requests for 14 others.
Senior officials denied a connection between the cash given to Iran and the prisoner exchange.
“As we’ve made clear, the negotiations over the settlement of an outstanding claim …were completely separate from the discussions about returning our American citizens home,” State Department spokesperson John Kirby told the Journal.
“Not only were the two negotiations separate, they were conducted by different teams on each side, including, in the case of The Hague claims, by technical experts involved in these negotiations for many years,” he added.
