House panel approves bill prohibiting cash payments to Iran

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., center, and the committee's ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., second from right, listen to staffers as they confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the committee's hearing on Iran. The committee approved legislation to prohibit the U.S. from making cash payments to Iran and requires that any future settlements with Tehran be conducted openly. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., center, and the committee's ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., second from right, listen to staffers as they confer on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the committee's hearing on Iran. The committee approved legislation to prohibit the U.S. from making cash payments to Iran and requires that any future settlements with Tehran be conducted openly. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

By Associated Press September 14, 2016 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – A House committee has passed election-year legislation that prohibits the United States from making cash payments to Iran and requires that Congress be notified before any future claims settlements are made with Tehran.

The bill’s approval comes a week after the Obama administration says it delivered $1.7 billion in cash to Iran earlier this year to settle a decades-old arbitration claim between the two countries.

An initial $400 million delivery was sent Jan. 17, the same day Tehran agreed to release four American prisoners. The remainder followed in two additional installments.

Republicans decried the payments as ransom. The Obama administration has rejected the charge.

GOP Rep. Ed Royce of California – the House Foreign Affairs chairman – says Iran wanted cash so it could funnel the money to terrorist groups.