WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who led the fight along with 19 of her fellow Senators in calling on the Biden administration to formally freeze the $6 billion ransom payment to Iran, released the following statement.

“It is perplexing why the Biden administration refuses to crack down on Iran and issue a formal decision to freeze the $6 billion ransom payment,” said Senator Blackburn. “Instead, the administration is selectively leaking parts of their backdoor deal with Qatar to the media. We need to ensure the Biden administration will not release another dollar to Iran – even when the media attention on Israel dissipates. We must send the message that America does not reward terrorism or the arbitrary detention of our citizens abroad.”

• Senator Blackburn led 19 Senate Republicans in calling on President Biden and the State Department to immediately rescind the waivers that allowed Iranian funds to be converted and moved to more accessible bank accounts, as well as work with Qatar to immediately freeze the accounts containing these funds.