A former US general took to Twitter on Sunday to remind Republicans laying blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades that Donald Trump shared classified intelligence from Israel with Iran-allied Russia when he was president.
Retired army general Mark Hertling shared a story about allegations the former president told top Russian officials that Israel had successfully hacked Isis computers in order to gain intelligence about bomb plots against the West in a meeting at the White House in 2017.
At the time, the former president’s actions reportedly ignited fears by Israel that Russia could have passed the information to its ally Iran, which has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Mr Trump reportedly leaked the information in a meeting in the Oval Office in May 2017 with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Amid uproar over the revelation, Mr Trump insisted he had every right to give Russia the information.
He tweeted: “As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled WH meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against Isis and terrorism."
General Hertling’s reminder of the incident comes after Republican presidential contenders accused the Biden administration of helping to fund the attacks in Israel, which saw more than 700 killed, after a deal was struck to free up $6bn in previously frozen assets to assist humanitarian causes in Iran.
The complex deal was announced by the Biden administration in September as part of the agreement to release five US citizens detained in Iran.
A Russian foreign ministry photo showing Donald Trump with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during their meeting in the White House in May 2017— (EPA)
As part of the deal, roughly $6bn in frozen Iranian assets that were being held in South Korea were transferred to an account in Doha, Qatar.
Administration officials have insisted the money has not yet been spent and is now being held in a restricted account in Doha – but in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel over the weekend, Republicans including Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott and JD Vance have claimed the money may have been linked to the attacks. In response to Biden administration claims the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes, conservatives have responded that the money is “fungible”, meaning Iran could take advantage of the $6bn by reallocating or moving around other funds.
“For all those focused on ‘fungible’ perhaps this is something to be considered,” General Hertling, the former commander of US troops in Europe and an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, tweeted.
Iran provides some $100m a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the US State Department.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Joe Biden of “policies that have gone easy on Iran” and have “helped to fill their coffers.”
In a video statement, he said: “Israel is now paying the price for those policies. We’re going to stand with the State of Israel, they need to root out Hamas and we need to stand up to Iran.”
Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator and GOP presidential hopeful Tim Scott alleged the attack was “the Biden $6bn ransom payment at work.”
“We didn’t just invite this aggression, we paid for it,” he said in a statement.
Ron DeSantis accused the Biden administration of helping to fund the attacks in Israel— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Mr Trump also accused the Biden administration of funding the Hamas attack on Israel, falsely stating American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks.
Senior Biden administration officials have stressed $6bn is not taxpayer money, and comes from payments made by South Korea to Iran to buy oil in recent years.
Mr Trump also argued that, under president Biden, the US is perceived as being “weak and ineffective” on the global stage, thereby opening the door to hostility. “They didn’t have that level of aggression with me. They didn’t have it. This would have never happened with me either,” Mr Trump claimed, adding later in Cedar Rapids that Mr Biden had “betrayed Israel” with the deal.
The White House insists the money is ringfenced for humanitarian purposes — such as food and medicine for Iranians — and handled by what the administration described as vetted non-Iranian vendors.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said she could not directly address Republican criticism due to federal restrictions.
“But I can clarify the facts: Not a single cent from these funds has been spent, and when it is spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the Iranian people,” she said on Saturday in a statement. “These funds have absolutely nothing to do with the horrific attacks today and this is not the time to spread disinformation.”
Over the weekend, Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing hundreds of people and taking dozens captive across the Gaza border.
More than 700 people were killed, with at least nine Americans among the dead.
Palestinian officials have said that more than 400 have been killed in retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Thousands more people are believed to be injured while the number of individuals taken hostage by Hamas is currently unclear.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared a state of war and promised “mighty vengeance” on Israel’s attackers.
On Monday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities will cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.
Meanwhile, sirens have sounded in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with witnesses in the latter city hearing explosions that may have been from rocket impacts or from mid-air interceptions.
