✕ The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on October 7, 2023 in a news release: \"Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden administration.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Israel * Donald Trump ![\\"The](\\" The Iranian supertanker Adrian Darya 1 on Aug. 17, 2019. (AP) ![\\"Louis](\\" By Louis Jacobson October 11, 2023 ![\\"Samantha](\\" By Samantha Putterman October 11, 2023 # Donald Trump wrong that US tax dollars went to Iran, Hamas #### If Your Time is short * Trump appears to be referring to $6 billion in Iranian money unfrozen as part of a hostage deal struck between the Biden administration and Iran. * However, no taxpayer dollars were included in that $6 billion; it was entirely money that South Korea paid to Iran for oil. Amid sanctions, banks froze the funds, preventing them from reaching Iranian coffers. * One school of thought says that access to these funds could one day allow Iran to spend money on other things, including aid to Hamas. But strictly speaking, none of the money from the $6 billion agreement went to \"fund\" the Hamas attacks, because none of it had been withdrawn, for any purpose. See the sources for this fact-check In the early hours of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, former President Donald Trump released a statement critical of the Biden administration. \"These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,\" Trump said in a statement released on X, formerly Twitter. \"Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration.\" > “These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend > itself with overwhelming force. Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund > these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden > Administration… pic.twitter.com/1rLaMIFijz > > — Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 7, 2023 The Biden administration and its critics have engaged in robust debate over whether any of the administration’s policies may have made the attacks more likely. But Trump went a step further by saying U.S. taxpayer money was involved. That’s not the case. The biggest issue in the debate has been whether $6 billion in Iranian money made its way to Hamas after the U.S. unfroze it in a hostage-release deal. Trump referenced this sum in a subsequent Truth Social post, saying in part, \"Crooked Joe Biden must take back and freeze the 6 billion dollars right now, before it is too late.\" We reached out to the Trump campaign to see whether it was standing by its characterization that taxpayer funds were involved in the attack but did not hear back. Where does the $6 billion figure come from? In August, the U.S. announced an agreement with Iran to secure freedom for five U.S. citizens who’d been detained in the country, in exchange for allowing Iran to access $6 billion of its own funds that had been frozen in South Korean banks. But where did that $6 billion come from? As president in 2018, Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that had been reached under former President Barack Obama. The deal restricted Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Trump’s exit from the agreement meant that prior sanctions against Iran snapped back in place, and this left open to punishment any country continuing to do business with Iran. However, the Trump administration gave waivers to a handful of countries that relied on Iran for imported oil, notably South Korea. Under the Trump-era rule, these countries could keep buying Iranian oil as long as they showed that they were working to reduce dependence. A few months later, the Trump administration decided not to renew the waivers. This meant that countries caught conducting business with Iran found themselves vulnerable to sanctions. At the time, about $6 billion in Iranian oil sale proceeds were being transferred from South Korea to Iran. But the renewed fear of sanctions prompted banks involved in those transfers to freeze the transactions. The Biden administration’s August 2023 agreement allowed Iran to access the $6 billion in exchange for freeing five Americans detained in Iran. The agreement included a key restriction on how the money could be withdrawn: Iran could use this money only to pay for humanitarian items, such as medicine and food. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Tennessee Republican Party stated on February 25, 2008 in in a press release \"You don\'t even have to go outside Obama\'s campaign to find advisers who are anti-Israel.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Robert Farley • March 14, 2008 Did any of that $6 billion go to Hamas? In a literal sense, none of the $6 billion could have gone to Hamas in time to aid the attacks on Israel. Even before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the hostage agreement was politically divisive, with Biden supporters praising the return of the hostages and critics saying the payment amounted to a ransom that would encourage future hostage-taking. After Hamas’ attack on Israel, rhetoric about the deal intensified. The Biden administration countered its critics by saying Iran had not withdrawn any of the money prior to Hamas’ attacks, so the United States’ actions couldn’t have played any role. When the freed Americans arrived mid- September in the U.S., the Iranian money was deposited into a restricted Qatari bank account. Qatar\'s central bank is overseeing the funds, and Iran has not accessed the money, U.S. officials said. But Hamas could indirectly benefit from money that Iran will eventually be able to secure from the hostage deal, Biden’s critics argue. The money is fungible. \"The safeguards in place are surely good enough to make sure only legitimate goods are purchased using those funds,\" said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank focused on the Middle East. \"But nobody can say what’s then done with those goods.\" Foreign policy analysts told PolitiFact that fungibility is a legitimate concern in this case. \"If you had a large end-of-year bonus payment coming your way, might you start spending more money in the meantime? Of course,\" said Matthew Kroenig, a Georgetown University professor of government and foreign service. This is especially true in a country with a highly centralized economy and government, Levitt said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an influential military branch within Iran, \"controls so much of the Iranian economy, there’s no way to have comfort (that) the goods aren’t sold and some funds go to underwrite militancy.\" Despite the possible risks of future fungibility, none of this supports the notion that the $6 billion came from U.S. taxpayers. A final note: $6 billion is a fraction of the annual amount of oil sales by Iran. In 2022, the last full year for which data is available, Iran took in $54 billion in revenue from oil sales, meaning that other countries’ purchases are providing lots of cash to the Iranian government every year. Our ruling Trump said, \"Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden administration.\" It appears Trump was referring to $6 billion in Iranian money unfrozen as part of a hostage deal struck between the Biden administration and Iran. One school of thought says that this money could one day allow Iran to spend money on other things, including aid to Hamas. But this much is clear: No U.S. taxpayer dollars made up that $6 billion. It was entirely money that South Korea paid to Iran. Amid sanctions, the money became frozen in banks on the way to Iranian coffers. We rate the claim False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Donald Trump, statement released on X, Oct. 7, 2023 PolitiFact, \"The US freed $6 billion in Iranian money. Did it help fund Hamas’ attack on Israel?\" Oct. The New York Times, Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned, May 8, 2018 Council on Foreign Relations, What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?, Updated June 21, 2023 CNBC, Trump will grant 8 waivers to buy Iranian oil, allowing imports beyond US sanctions deadline, Nov. 2, 2018 Foreign Policy, Trump’s Big Iran Oil Gamble, April 22, 2019 U.S. Energy Information Administration, \"OPEC net oil export revenues,\" June 2023 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Louis Jacobson ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 30, 2024 in an event in Atlanta: \"Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on July 28, 2024 in an interview on Fox News Sunday: “Even before the pandemic, America went into a manufacturing recession.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 18, 2024 in a speech in North Carolina: “Today, America has record energy production and we are energy independent.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in su discurso de aceptación en la Convención Nacional Demócrata: El expresidente Donald Trump “tiene la intención de promulgar lo que, en efecto, es un impuesto nacional sobre las ventas…que elevaría los precios para las familias de clase media a casi $4,000 al año”. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a campaign event in Glendale, Ariz.: “There’s been a 43% increase in violent crimes since I left office.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention: Former President Donald Trump \"intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax ... that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": “Anything that you lose on the tariff from the perspective of the consumer, you gain in higher wages, so you\'re ultimately much better off.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 21, 2024 in a Truth Social post: “The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 6, 2024 in un mitin de campaña en Filadelfia: \"El crimen violento aumentó bajo Donald Trump\". ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 6, 2024 in a rally in Philadelphia: “Violent crime was up under Donald Trump.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 30, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Donald Trump “intends to cut” Medicare. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on August 2, 2024 in a written statement: \"Since Vice President Harris and I took office … incomes have risen faster than prices.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • August 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 30, 2024 in an event in Atlanta: \"Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on July 28, 2024 in an interview on Fox News Sunday: “Even before the pandemic, America went into a manufacturing recession.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 18, 2024 in a speech in North Carolina: “Today, America has record energy production and we are energy independent.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • July 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in su discurso de aceptación en la Convención Nacional Demócrata: El expresidente Donald Trump “tiene la intención de promulgar lo que, en efecto, es un impuesto nacional sobre las ventas…que elevaría los precios para las familias de clase media a casi $4,000 al año”. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 5, 2024 ### Donald Trump wrong that US tax dollars went to Iran, Hamas * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 8, 2024 in a Threads post: “Elon Musk is going to expose Bill Gates soon, says ‘he’s evil.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Gordon Ramsay calls Tim Walz a ‘woke creep,’ throws him out of Hell’s Kitchen.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"ÚLTIMA HORA Río Nilo se pinta de rojo sangre\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Photo shows Elton John wearing a “MAGA” jacket. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a photo: The Minnesota Vikings have denounced Tim Walz: “We don’t suppᴏrt his values.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in Instagram posts: Immigrants get $2,000 each time they cross the border illegally. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 30, 2024 in a Facebook post: Video shows tornadoes in Canada. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows a Ku Klux Klan member at a rally for former President Donald Trump. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" * * *
Sadly American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks which many reports are saying came from the Biden administration