Pompeo Criticizes Treasury Department Official's Remarks That U.S. Companies Can Receive Government Financing to Do Business in Iran

Press Release

Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) released the following statement in response to remarks by John Smith, the Acting Director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, at the Atlantic Council. Among other things, Smith stated: "Companies that are authorized to engage in trade with Iran…can get financing through a variety of sources, some of them have been…government sources. We are seeing a reluctance of larger banks around the world to dive in, that's actually not surprising to me."

Pompeo said, "Yesterday's statements by a Treasury Department official are an apparent reversal of the Obama administration's promises to Congress and the American people that the Iran deal would not allow the Export-Import Bank to fund commercial business with Iran. If true, this is yet another broken promise in a growing pile of deceits related to President Obama's agreement with the Ayatollah. Americans should not be forced to fund terrorism, nor should they be on the hook for business deals with the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. The role of the federal government is to protect Americans, not to place the full faith and credit of our government behind deals with a regime that seeks to kill our soldiers and destroy our close ally Israel.

"It speaks to the incredible risk of doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran if American companies have to turn to federally-guaranteed funding mechanisms to support their business there. It would be wise for the U.S. private sector to stay far from Iran. The lives of America's children are worth more than could ever be gained from selling any commercial product to the radical clerics in Tehran."

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