U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby repeatedly defended President Joe Biden’s decision to relax sanctions enforcement against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has helped the country earn tens of billions of dollars in oil revenue.
Kirby made the remarks during a Sunday interview with Shannon Bream on Fox News after Iran launched 185 one-way suicide drones, 110 surface-to-surface missiles, and 36 cruise missiles at Israel.
Bream asked, “Is it not fair to say though there have been moves by this administration that have opened up cash and other opportunities for them, which we know are fungible in ways that are not helping the Iranian people, but are benefiting the elites and people there who chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’?”
Kirby responded by claiming that it was former President Donald Trump who enacted “the sanctions relief program” for Iran, even though Trump was known for enacting crippling sanctions on Iran.
“It doesn’t go to the regime,” Kirby said. “And the idea that the regime was somehow felt like they were freed up to support these proxies because of that, it just doesn’t comport with the facts. They had been supporting these proxies for many, many years.”
Bream noted that the Iranians themselves have said they would use the money however they want.
John Kirby insists the billions of dollars Biden has unlocked for Iran aren't going to the regime, denies the funds are "fungible," and blames President Trump pic.twitter.com/ihjIWzchGC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 14, 2024
“The conversations about unfreezing assets, about waivers on sanctions, could this administration have been tougher on Iran?” Bream asked. “Did it sense an opening?”
Kirby insisted it was “hard to look at what President Biden has done with respect to Iran and say that he hasn’t been tough on Iran.”
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“Just look at the sanctions that we put in place against Iran,” Kirby claimed. “Look at the resources we put in this in the into the region. It’s hard to take a look at what President Biden has done and say that we’ve somehow gone soft on Iran. It was the previous administration that decided to get us out of the Iran deal. And now Iran is so much dramatically closer to potential nuclear weapon capability than they were before Mr. Trump was elected.”
Iran moved closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon under Biden, not Trump, according to Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan institution focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Massive increase in Iranian nuclear enrichment since President Biden elected. Facts are stubborn things. So is Khamenei when he faces minimal American pressure and massive sanctions relief. pic.twitter.com/CNJ4VZCYFo
— Mark Dubowitz (@mdubowitz) April 1, 2024