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Did Obama hire 9 lawyers amid backlash over 2016 cash transfer to Iran? Debunking viral claims
Claims that Barack Obama hired nine lawyers over the 2016 $1.7 billion Iran cash transfer resurfaced after Trump remarks. But the claim is false.
Barack Obama sending $1.7 billion in cash to Iran in 2016 has become a major talking point amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. On Tuesday, speaking to the media from the White House, Trump reiterated that Obama purportedly dropped cash on a Boeing 757 aircraft.
As people revisit the contexts of Obama and Biden sending money to Iran, a baseless hoax in doing rounds on social media. It claims that Barack Obama has purportedly hired a team of nine criminal defense lawyers, fearing a potential backlash from the Trump administration over the cash transfer to Iran. However, Ht.com can confirm that the claims are false.
No reports suggest that the federal authorities are taking legal action against Obama for the cash transfer in January 2016. Obama, or his team, has also not confirmed anything around lawyering up, and claims that he is in trouble over it are false.
For instance, here's a post that got over 2 million views on X:
Obama transferred $1.7 billion to Iran in January 2016 as part of settlement for a failed pre-1979 arms deal. $400 million was delivered in cash by plane, while rest of the $1.3 billion was the interest accumulated on the amount since the 1970s.
The claims resurfaced after Trump spoke extensively and in detail about the cash transfer at the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Also read: Follow LIVE updates from US-Israel attack on Iran
“The deal that Obama made giving them everything, including plane loads of cash… It was a Boeing 757," Trump said. "It was two of them, loaded. They took out all the seats. It was loaded with green cash… It was in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
"They got all the cash from all the banks… and they flew it to Iran. I never knew a President had that power.”
Biden, meanwhile, allowed Iran to access about $10 billion in Iraqi electricity payments held in a bond by the US. It also unfroze an additional $6 billion in a Qatar-held account from a hostage deal. In total, Biden allowed Iran to access around $16 billion.
There is no evidence to suggest, however, that the money was used to fund Iran's nuclear program.
Trump Says "Too Late" For Talks With Iran
On Tuesday, in a Truth Social Post, Trump said that it is "too late" for further talks with Iran. The President had earlier said in an interview with The Atlantic that he is open to talks to possibly de-escalate the situation. Tuesday's Truth Social post marked a complete U-turn on the POTUS' previous stance.
"Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said, 'Too Late!'" Trump wrote.
