http://www.jta.org/2016/08/04/news-opinion/politics/obama-400m-paid-to-iran-was-not-ransom-money
Obama: $400M paid to Iran was not ransom money

Speaking Thursday at a briefing with reporters on national security, Obama said the $400 million in cash transferred to Iran earlier this year was to settle claims Iran had on the money since the 1980s, when the United States froze Iranian funds.

The payment, which was reported in January by various news outlets, came as the United States sought to settle financial claims with Iran around the time that Iran was implementing, together with the United States and five other major world powers, the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal.