President Donald Trump claimed in a primetime speech that Democratic president Barack Obama gave $1.7 billion 'in cash' to Iran in 2016. However, there's an explanation behind the Obama administration's move.
The payment stemmed from a decades-old financial dispute between the US and Iran, involving funds that originally belonged to Tehran and had been frozen since the 1970s.
In 2016, the Obama administration confirmed that the $1.7 billion settlement was delivered in physical cash using foreign currencies, including euros and Swiss francs.
Officials said the method was necessary due to sanctions that had effectively cut Iran off from the global banking system.
The settlement included an initial $400 million, delivered on January 17, 2016, the same day Iran released four American prisoners.
The remaining $1.3 billion, representing interest on the original sum, was paid in additional cash installments in the following weeks.
