The U.S. delivery of $400 million in cash to Iran–in the same time frame as a hostage release–raises legitimate questions about quid pro quos and ransom paying.
In short, it was a quid pro quo. The timing was not preposterously coincidental.
But in truth, it was not ransom. Not when you’re sending Iran back its own money. In the 1970s, pre-revolutionary Iran paid $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered–for obvious reasons. The matter has long been the purview of an international tribunal, and the Iranian nuclear deal obviously ramped up the timing. It’s not the Shah’s money; it’s the Islamic Republic of Iran’s. Like it or not.