Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Thursday that some of the billions in funding that Iran received as part of its sanctions relief package for the landmark nuclear deal signed this month would likely land in the hands of groups that the U.S. considers to be terrorists. Kerry added, however, that if Iran is serious about bolstering its lagging economy, Iran won't be able to funnel much of the money in that direction.
"I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled terrorists," Kerry said in an interview with CNBC at Davos, referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to CNN. "You know, to some degree, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every component of that can be prevented." But he added that "right now, we are not seeing the early delivery of funds going to that kind of endeavor at this point in time."
Kerry pointed out that of the original $150 billion in sanctions relief, Iran would likely see about $55 billion after debts are settled, which would make it more difficult to have additional funds to direct toward nefarious activities.
In a later interview, Kerry appeared to be softening his earlier statement, saying that he understands the IRGC is "already complaining that they are not getting the money," the Associated Press reported. He added that there will be consequences for Iran if there is evidence that the funding supported terrorism. "If we catch them funding terrorism, they're going to have a problem in the U.S. Congress and [with] other people, obviously."
Kerry, however, insisted that the world is a safer place after having reached a nuclear accord with Iran. "Iran was hurtling towards an unaccounted for, uninspected, full-fledged nuclear program with high levels of enrichment where they had enough enriched material to make 10 to 12 bombs," Kerry said during his CNBC interview. "Now, frankly, at Iran's consent and agreement, they have rolled that back."
