US payment of $1.7 billion to Iran made entirely in cash

The Obama administration acknowledged late on Tuesday that its transfer of $1.7bn to Iran earlier this year was made entirely in cash, using non-US currency, as Republican critics of the transaction continued to denounce the payments. Treasury Department spokeswoman Dawn Selak said in a statement the cash payments were necessary because of the "effectiveness of US and international sanctions," which isolated Iran from the international finance system.