Sinema, Kelly, Gallego and Stanton join GOP calls to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets

Many Capitol Hill Republicans began urging the Biden administration to re-freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets that were previously released as part of a prisoner swap with Iran.

In the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel, those lawmakers argued that those funds may have freed up resources for Iran’s military spending and support of the militant Palestinian group.

They've since been joined in those calls by some Democrats, particularly those facing competitive election or reelection races in 2024.

The Biden administration reportedly has come to a "quiet agreement" with Qatar, where the funds are held, to block Iran from accessing that $6 billion. They have not yet officially announced the deal.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., a former Democrat who is expected to announce a bid to hold her Senate seat, is among those who took the position. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is running to replace Sinema in the Senate; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., also expressed support for blocking Iran from the assets.

Republican strategist Paul Bentz noted that Arizona's Capitol Hill representatives and senators often use this strategy as needed to create distance on the issue between themselves and a politically unpopular president. In this case, President Joe Biden is polling underwater in the state.

"We've seen the senators for the state, both Kelly and Sinema, take this approach: finding particular issues where they can draw some differences between themselves and the president," Bentz said.

Sinema first urged Biden to go through with the asset freeze Wednesday in statements to the media on Wednesday. On Thursday, after reports of the deal surfaced, she and Kelly signed onto a letter asking Biden to make it official U.S. policy.

"While we understand that there are reports of an agreement with Qatar to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets, we urge you to make this decision official U.S. policy and continue your efforts to limit Iran’s ability to provide support to Hamas," they wrote as part of a bipartisan group of 14 senators.

Notably, Gallego was one of only two Democrats to join 96 House Republicans in signing a letter on Wednesday that urged the asset freeze. Bentz said that decision reflects the fact that candidates generally need to present a moderate image to get elected to statewide office in Arizona.

"In this case, it's a perfect opportunity for Gallego to set forth his independent credentials and show his willingness to work with Republicans on important issues to help improve his electoral chances in the state," Bentz said.

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Stanton voiced support for the move as well.

“These funds should not be dispersed until there is a full investigation to definitively determine whether the Iranian regime played a role in planning or financing Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attacks,” Stanton's office wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

Those appeals put pressure on the president, whose office has still not yet announced the deal with Qatar, nor officially acknowledged that Iran played a role in the latest attack on Israel, despite some media reports to the contrary.

"We obviously recognize that there is broad complicity here by the Iranians because of the long-standing support to Hamas," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a Wednesday news conference. "But we haven’t seen any specific evidence that tells us they were involved in the planning or involved in the resourcing and the training that went into this very complex set of attacks over the weekend."

Kirby added that the matter was the subject of an “ongoing intelligence assessment.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sinema, Gallego joined Republicans in pressuring Biden on Iran money