U.S. sent plane full of cash to Iran earlier this year

The United States airlifted $400 million worth of foreign cash to Iran as the Islamic country released four American prisoners in January of this year, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The revelation has sparked a firestorm of criticism against the Obama administration for breaking protocol and paying a ransom for the prisoners. But the White House insists the timing of the payment, part of a settlement for a long-standing dispute, was a coincidence—one of several loose ends tied up as the two countries agreed to a landmark nuclear deal. “Not only were the two negotiations separate, they were conducted by different teams on each side,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told the Journal. But Republicans are excoriating the administration, saying the perceived ransom payment could motivate more kidnappings of Americans in Iran.