A Democratic congressman and former Army intelligence officer on Monday disagreed sharply with President Joe Biden’s decision to swap prisoners with Iran and unfreeze $6 billion in oil assets, saying the deal only incentivizes further hostage-taking by rogue states.
Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY) said the recent deal, which resulted in the release of five Americans held captive in exchange for the release of five Iranian prisoners linked to terrorism, will only weaken America’s future position at the bargaining table.
“I have real concerns about this deal,” Ryan said in a CNN interview. “I understand … the human side of it and the tragedy, but I am concerned that we’re rewarding bad behavior here — decades of bad behavior by the Iranian regime — so I think we have to look more closely at this.”
Rep. Ryan, a two-tour veteran of the nation’s war in Iraq, said he believes Iran is not bargaining in good faith and it is only a matter of time before the U.S. gets burned on a deal. While supporters of the Biden administration have called the deal a breakthrough in talks while negotiations remain frozen over the future of Iran’s nuclear program, Rep. Ryan said he