Joe Biden chose to travel to Alaska and Vietnam instead of visiting the 9/11 attack sites, where he gave a poorly received speech. It was shocking to learn that this administration, despite being tone-deaf, chose to announce on this holy day a $6 billion agreement with Iran. This is a country our State Department considers to be a “state-sponsor of terrorism.”
My colleague noted that the Biden administration struck a deal with Iran whereby we gave them billions of taxpayer dollars as a form of payment for the release of five American citizens who were being held in the Islamic Republic.
BREAKING – DISASTROUS WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING: @whitehouse‘s John Kirby struggles to explain why Joe Biden is negotiating with the ‘terrorists’ announcing on the day the US was attacked by 9/11 terrorists that they are sending Iran $6 billion and five Iranians in exchange for five… pic.twitter.com/mZN0jxYWG5
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 13, 2023
The full tweet by journalist Simon Ateba is:
BREAKING: DISASTEROUS WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING
@whitehouse’s John Kirby struggles to explain why Joe Biden is negotiating with the ‘terrorists’ announcing on the day the US was attacked by 9/11 terrorists that they are sending Iran $6 billion and five Iranians in exchange for five Americans, claims it’s not a ransom payment, claims the government of Iran will not have access to the money but the Iranian people will, claims the US will monitor how the billions are spent inside Iran. This is so CRAZY and so LAME. SAD. WATCH
The Iranians’ gratitude for the money didn’t last very long as they prevented U.N. inspectors from accessing the nuclear sites over the weekend.
This development comes just as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is preparing to visit New York City and address the U.N. General Assembly. It adds another layer of tensions surrounding Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Rafael Grossi, the U.N. chief nuclear watchdog, said in a rare Saturday statement that Iranian officials informed him they would no longer allow certain International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to perform “essential verification at the Iranian enrichment facilities which are under Agency’s safeguards.”
This is the same regime with which former President Obama signed a nuclear agreement. According to the Trump White House Archives, the former President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018. It was a “disastrous one-sided agreement that failed to stop Iran’s nuclear program and its full range and malign activities” and failed to “protect American national security interest.”
U.N. officials did not like the latest Iranian move:
Rafael Grossi, the U.N. chief nuclear watchdog, said in a rare Saturday statement that Iranian officials informed him that they would no longer allow certain International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to perform “essential verification at the Iranian enrichment facilities which are under Agency’s safeguards.”
Grossi stated that Iran has removed approximately one-third of the core group of inspectors with the most experience designated for Iran.
Inspectors are in Iran for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Grossi admitted that Iran has the right to reject individual inspectors whom it doesn’t agree with under the NPT. The IAEA chief, however, said that Tehran’s recent move was unwarranted.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (TNP) is an international agreement signed in 1970 by 191 nations to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
IAEA Director General’s statement on verification in Iran. https://t.co/MdZyoiUmCp pic.twitter.com/SiiKlKn2Wo
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) September 16, 2023
Grossi, who is the director general of The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), released a statement that continued:
I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of Agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the Agency and Iran.
This deeply regrettable decision of Iran is yet another step in the wrong direction. It represents an unnecessary blow to the already strained relationship that exists between the IAEA, Iran, and the NPT Safeguards Agreement.