US House passes bill to block Iran's access to $6B unfrozen in prisoner deal

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill to permanently block $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds that were to be released under a prisoner swap agreement from September.

The "No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act," received support from 90 Democrats and most House Republicans, resulting in a 307-119 vote, according to the House website.

Representative Michael McCaul, the bill's sponsor, criticized the administration of President Joe Biden for providing funds to Iran, which he said provided support to Palestinian group Hamas, suggesting the present of undisclosed motives, such as to facilitate a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

The proposal, which aims to prevent the transfer of money to Iran, is expected to be discussed in the Senate, supported by Republicans.

During his speech, McCaul also described the prisoner swap agreement as "dangerous, reckless hostage deal that puts a price on every American head all over the world."

"With such instability in the region, the last thing we need to do is to give access to $6 billion to be diverted to more Iranian-sponsored terrorism," said McCaul.

Republicans have been against the "hostage deal" since its announcement in August.

Democrats opposing the proposal, meanwhile, have argued that the decision to transfer money to Iran was justified, pointing to the release of five Americans held in Iran.