MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington released a $400-million cash payment to Tehran at a time coinciding with US prisoners held in Iran being freed. The newspaper alleged that the transfer of the US funds by a plane and the release of prisoners on January 17 constituted an agreed exchange.
Following the publication of the original WSJ claims on August 3, US President Barack Obama made a statement saying that the $400-million payment to Iran did not constitute ransom but was made due to the fact that Washington owed even a larger sum of money to Iran over a 1970-s failed arms deal, while timing was simply a coincidence.
According to Obama, the payment had to be made in cash as the United States and Iran do not have a banking relationship.