Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 4, 2016
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Kerry defends $400m paid to Iran, denies it was ransom
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSecretary of State John Kerry says a $400 million cash payment sent to Iran when a nuclear deal was reached and four Americans were released was not a ransom payment.
Kerry says the payment was part of a separately negotiated claim by the Iranian government dating to the early 1980s.
Kerry says the cash, along with $1.3 billion in interest, was part of a dispute involving a military equipment sale to the since-deposed shah of Iran. Several Americans held in Iranian prisons were released as part of a swap at the same time.
Kerry also says he is unaware of any video showing the arrival of a pallet of cash in Iran, which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cited at a rally on Wednesday.
Kerry is traveling in Argentina.
— AP
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