White House pressed on violence in Israel: 'Not ruling anything in or out'
National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the latest on the war in Israel as violence with Hamas escalates.
The Biden administration has faced fierce scrutiny in recent days for unfreezing billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets leading up Hamas' attacks on Israel, with critics claiming the move freed up resources to fund the terror.
FOX News' Bret Baier pressed National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby on why the U.S. has not refrozen the $6 billion that was released last month during a prisoner swap deal, citing concerns surrounding Tehran's known funding of Hamas.
"I don't have any policy decisions with respect to that to speak to today, Bret, that I think it's important for people to remember that not a single dinar of that of those funds has gone into Iran," Kirby said during "America's Newsroom" Tuesday. "Not one… not any. Nothing's been allocated out of that fund, and we're going to watch it."
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Baier pushed back, warning "money is fungible," while noting Iran's ability to "cash in on its oil around the world" without the enforcement of sanctions.
"Bret, with all due respect, I just got to push back on you there," Kirby responded. "It's not that we're not enforcing sanctions. We have been enforcing them. As a matter of fact, we've added sanctions. We've sanctioned 400 entities in Iran just in the beginning of this administration, let alone the sanctions that came before us."
"As for the fungibility, again, that money was never going to be tapped by the Iranian regime," he continued. "They were never going to see it themselves. It was always going to go to vendors that we approved to go to buy humanitarian assistance and medical and food… directly to the Iranian people. The regime was never going to see that or feel that, and they haven't asked for it."
The deal in question allowed the transfer of the money held in a South Korean bank to accounts in Qatar. The administration says the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes and the U.S. will have oversight as to how and when the funds are used.
There is no evidence that any of that $6 billion has left the Qatari account as of yet.
"I wanted to just push back on one thing," Baier said. "You said that the sanctions are being enforced. The Iranian exports of oil to China – 2020, 6.6 billion. 2021, 23.1 billion. 2022, $30 billion. So how is that enforcing the sanctions on Iran?"
Kirby reiterated the Biden administration is enforcing sanctions against Tehran and has even added more to the mix.
"Back on that $6 billion, it's not like the Iranians were ever going to be able to get all 6 billion or even a billion at a time," Kirby said. "The idea would be it would be allocated in very small chunks…"
"Let's just say that that's fine," Baier interjected. "The 6 billion is not moving, but there's billions and billions of other dollars. And is there a look now at Iran policy because of what's being funneled to Hamas and Hezbollah?"
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"There has always been a review of Iran policy, and we have always been looking for ways to continue to hold Iran accountable for their destabilizing activities," Kirby responded. "We've added military capability in the Gulf now into the Eastern [Mediterranean]. We've added additional sanctions to the regime against Iran."
"We've never not taken our eye off Iran," he continued. "We've never not considered how we're going to pursue dealing with the kinds of things that they're doing in the region and beyond."
Israel declared war over the weekend after Hamas militants initiated an incursion near the border, firing more than 4,500 rockets from the Gaza Strip and massacring entire communities.
More than 1,000 Israelis had been killed as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Associated Press, with many more missing and likely taken hostage by Hamas militias – who have spared no one, including women and children.
FOX News' Adam Shaw, Benjamin Weinthal, Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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