Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has strongly criticized President Joe Biden's decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of an agreement to secure the release of five detained US citizens.
Pompeo has expressed concern that this deal may inadvertently incentivize further hostage-taking and potentially escalate terrorist activities.
"This is $6 billion that will be in the hands of [Iranian President Ebrahim] Raisi, the butcher of Tehran, controlled by the ayatollah, and it will mean more danger for everyone," Pompeo told The Jerusalem Post on Friday.
Early in the afternoon Thursday Washington time, National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson announced the White House had “received confirmation that Iran has released from prison five Americans who were unjustly detained and has placed them on house arrest.”
The path forward now has been described as a step-by-step process, and American officials stress that the indirect negotiations are ongoing and sensitive.
