DOJ Raised Concerns About Iran Cash

Senior U.S. Justice Department officials expressed concerns about sending a plane with cash to Tehran on the same day the Iranian government released four detained Americans, but they were overruled by the State Department, The Wall Street Journal reported. The $400 million cash payment was allegedly used to partially settle an arms deal dating back to the late-’70s, but multiple DOJ officials told the Journal they worried it would look as though the U.S. had paid a ransom for the released detainees. “People knew what it was going to look like, and there was concern the Iranians probably did consider it a ransom payment,’’ one inside source told the newspaper.