Former US President Donald Trump lambasted his successor, President Joe Biden after the Biden Administration secured the release of five Americans held by Iran in exchange for five Iranian prisoners and $6 billion.

“I brought 58 HOSTAGES home from many different countries, including North Korea, and I never paid anything. They all understood they MUST LET THESE PEOPLE COME HOME! Toward the end, it got so that countries didn’t even start the conversation asking for money, because they knew they would not get it," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added: “Once you pay, you always pay, & MANY MORE HOSTAGES WILL BE TAKEN. Our grossly incompetent ‘leader,’ Crooked Joe Biden, gave 6 BILLION DOLLARS for 5 people. Iran gave ZERO for 5. He’s Dumb as a ROCK."

The American hostages were flown out of Tehran to Doha on Monday.

As part of the deal, five Iranian nationals imprisoned in the US for various crimes were also released, and the Biden Administration agreed to issue a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of US sanctions.

Biden Administration officials have claimed that under the agreement, the $6 billion would be used purely for humanitarian purposes. However, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that humanitarian means whatever the Iranian government says it means, fueling concerns that the money will be used to fund terrorism.

Critics of the deal have warned that by agreeing to such an exchange in which Iran receives $6 billion in addition to to return of its citizens, the US has incentivized Iran to take further hostages in the future.

Source: Israel National News