Where does Iran Deal sanctions relief money go?

Iran recently signed an accord with P5+1 to suspend its nuclear program in an exchange for sanctions relief. Under the deal, Iran will receive nearly $150 billion in sanctions relief and cash assets. It is expected that Iran will spend the money to fund its global terrorism operation, as well as its defense sector.

Iran is spending about 3.5 percent of its total budget on defense. About 65 percent of this money is spent on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the force that coordinates and conducts terror activities all around the world. The cash released by the sanction released will let Iran to put another $4.8 billion into its current defense budget.

State Department official said: “We are of course aware and concerned that, despite the massive domestic spending needs facing Iran, some of the resulting sanctions relief could be used by Iran to fund destabilizing actions”.

Iranian regime’s allies in the Middle East also expect that the funds freed up by sanctions relief will go to support Iran’s efforts to project its power throughout the Middle East. As Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, said in an interview, “A rich and strong Iran… will be able to stand by its allies and friends, and the peoples of the region, especially the resistance in Palestine, more than in any time in the past.”

It is important to know that Iran dedicated financial resources to Syria while it was under a choking sanctions framework. With a relaxation of this framework, Iran will only increase its support of the Assad regime and Shia militias, including Hezbollah.

Sen. Schumer, who is expected to become the Democrat’s leader in the Senate next year said in announcing his opposition to the deal, “The very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great.” He argued, “If Iran’s true intent is to get a nuclear weapon, under this agreement, it must simply exercise patience.” As the senator himself said, this is an issue with “great consequences” for the United States and the entire world. He has an obligation to actively lead the fight to keep those grim consequences from happening.

Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, write in an article, “the administration ignored the voices of its Middle East allies, a large swath of American citizens, and even Ayatollah Khamenei, who gave many ominous warnings in advance of the deal that the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism would not simply defang in exchange for economic and political concessions.”

Senator Marco Rubio said in an interview on 'Fox & Friends,' more Senate Democrats need to follow Chuck Schumer’s lead and oppose the Iran deal.

Now, the Congress should vote on Iran Deal. And the focus is more on Senate Democrats and Congressional Democrats who are facing a historical choice which maybe more important than any choice they ever had during their entire career. This is test for them if their first priority is being loyal to their party’s President or they dedicate to greater causes which are global security, stop funding terrorism, and respect lives of people in the U.S., Iran, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and … who are victims of Iranian regime terrorism and suppression?