The US Secretary of State, while reiterating support for the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, stated that Tehran has received $3 billion in cash since the agreement’s implementation.
According to the US State Department, John Kerry said on April 19 at a gathering of the J Street lobby group, while referring to debates among candidates for that country’s presidential election: “Remember the debates about how much money Iran was getting?”
He then added: “The candidates mistakenly said $155 billion. Some thought $100 billion. We calculated it; it came to $55 billion in cash. But do you know how much they have actually received so far?”
The US Secretary of State told participants at the J Street meeting that Iran has received three billion dollars since the implementation of the JCPOA through today.
Mr. Kerry’s reference to campaign statements harks back to debates and interviews by Republican candidates; for example, Donald Trump, the leading candidate of that party, had said last month that “We gave them (Iran) $150 billion”.
Previously, Reuters news agency reported that Iran would gain access to $100 billion of its blocked assets with the removal of sanctions, most of which has been spent on paying its debts.
John Kerry at the beginning of last month described the cash reaching Iran as “less than $50 billion”.
Mr. Kerry emphasized at the J Street meeting that the nuclear agreement reached with Tehran is the best way to “prevent” Tehran from obtaining “nuclear weapons”.
Iran has consistently rejected any efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
John Kerry meanwhile said that the amount of Iran’s enriched uranium has been reduced from 1,200 kilograms to 300 kilograms. He added that Tehran previously had two months to “complete the work,” but now “is one year behind, and we have the capability to know which direction they are going”.
The US Secretary of State says that despite some skepticism, “we are now in a place that seemed unthinkable to some and unacceptable to others”.
J Street is a liberal trans-governmental lobbying group. While considered a supporter of Israel, it calls for the continuation of US leadership in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and establishing peace between Israel and its neighbors.
A US State Department spokesperson announced on Monday that John Kerry traveled to New York to meet with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister. The “JCPOA” and “Syria crisis” were mentioned as topics of the upcoming talks.
Previously, Iran’s Foreign Ministry also said that Mr. Zarif would meet with Mr. Kerry during his trip to New York and discuss the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action with him. In recent days, attacks by hardliners on the nuclear agreement have increased, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has also raised criticisms regarding its implementation.
Source: Radio Farda
