Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe were joined by several other Republican Senators asking for more information from Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford about their testimony regarding $1.7 billion paid to Iran. It was during a recent Senate Armed Services Committee that Carter and Dunford said they were not notified by the Obama Administration about the cash payment.
“While we understand that other agencies and departments would be in the lead for such a transaction, we are deeply concerned that President Obama and the rest of the administration did not think it was necessary to even notify the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States was about to provide the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $1.7 billion in cash,” the letter reads. “It seems clear that the Obama administration’s injection of substantial, liquid financial resources into Iran’s military budget also has significant and obvious implications for America’s national security interests and required military posture in the Middle East.”
The letter also asks if Carter and Dunford believe Iran could be using the money to build up its military and if it could have an effect on U.S. military planning.
A copy of the letter to Carter and Dunford can be found here.
