Kerry defends $400 million payment to Iran, says U.S. does not pay ransoms

Washington, 04 August. - (ANA) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday defended the Obama administration's payment of $400 million in cash to Iran, denying it was a ransom for the release of American prisoners by Tehran.

"The United States does not pay ransoms," Kerry told a news conference in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. He said the payment, which was part of a longstanding Iranian claim at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague, was negotiated on a separate track from the Iran nuclear deal. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 04 August 2016 - - -