Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has a New Year's greeting of his own, informing Congress this month in an unclassified communication that the Pentagon does not believe Iran has spent some of the $1.7 billion awarded by the United States as part of what many described as a "ransom" payment to only purchase new military equipment but rather that Iran is also boosting its war machine in Syria, causing "great concern" among regional allies. The General's assessment concurs with congressional sources and foreign policy insiders who point to recent statements by Iranian officials who frankly said that U.S. funds have been allocated to military sources.
But some in the US intelligence community believe that the $1.7 billion transferred to Iran probably was allocated predominately to Iran's economic sector, in accordance with Tehran's stated emphasis on economic expansion, modernization, and diversification.
AIPAC and OFAC don't buy this assessment and nor do many in the same intelligence community who site Iranian leaders frequently repeated claims earlier this year that Iran had ordered the $1.7 billion be invested in the country's military budget.
Both claim, as do many members of Congress that Iran has used the US cash infusion to boost its military operations in the region, including in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq and that Iran continues to seek improved missile systems and the replacement of aging military equipment, particularly aircraft and naval vessels.
One veteran foreign policy insider who liaises with Congress on the issue told the Free Beacon that "Literally no one on the Hill takes the Obama administration seriously when they talk about the nuclear agreement and the Iran ransom," the source said. "Everyone knows the intelligence is politicized to hide the damage done by the president's diplomacy. There's a reason every Democrat in Congress voted for locking in Iran sanctions in the Iran Sanctions Act a few weeks ago. American lawmakers have had enough."
No doubt much more to be made public soon as OFAC requests a 30% increase in its current $ 30.9 million annual budget likely telling the incoming Trump Administration that the increase in needed to make American Great Again and to protect America and her allies from Terrorists.
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