The Obama payment was the settlement of a decades-old arbitration claim regarding a failed 1979 arms deal between the U.S. and the Shah of Iran

Biden

$6 Billion Hostage Deal (Sept 2023): The U.S. issued a waiver allowing South Korea to transfer $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue to Qatar for humanitarian purchases by Iran, as part of a prisoner exchange.

Re-freezing Efforts (Oct 2023): Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. and Qatar agreed to prevent Iran from accessing these $6 billion, with reports indicating the funds were not spent.

In short: unfreezing of Iranian assets, saying, “none of those funds — funds set up in an account, by the way, by the previous administration [IE TRUMP] — goes directly to the Supreme Leader of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. It can only be used for humanitarian purposes. And we’re watching that account very, very closely to make sure that that’s what happens.”

So, saying only that “Joe Biden gave 16 billion to Iran” leaves the false impression that the administration has provided new, unrestricted money to Iran. That money already belonged to Iran, and its use is restricted. It’s also unclear how much of it Iran has actually accessed.