--- description: The U.S. timed its payment of $400 million to Iran with the Persian Gulf country's release of American prisoners, according to a report title: Iran Deal: Report Says U.S. Waited to Hand Over Cash image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a1b053848c03df/6988a2c4fb4eac7def88ec77/amir-hekmati-iran-prisoner-release.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Foreign Policy](/tag/foreign-policy/) ## Foreign Policy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Report: U.S. Waited for Iran to Release Prisoners Before Handing Over Cash  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 18, 2016 12:27 PM CUT  Amir Hekmati, the 32-year-old, former U.S. Marine, who had just been released from an Iranian prison, waves after arriving on a private flight at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Mich. on Jan. 21, 2016. Amir Hekmati, the 32-year-old, former U.S. Marine, who had just been released from an Iranian prison, waves after arriving on a private flight at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Mich. on Jan. 21, 2016.Paul Sancya—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 18, 2016 12:27 PM CUT The U.S. timed a [payment of $400 million](http://time.com/4436518/us-sent-iran-cash-hostages/ "undefined") to Iran to coincide with the country’s release of American prisoners in January, according to a [report](http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-held-cash-until-iran-freed-prisoners-1471469256 "undefined"). The _Wall Street Journal_ reports, citing anonymous sources, that the U.S. would not give Iranian officials control of the money until American prisoners had departed Tehran en route to Geneva. The [U.S. payment to Iran](http://fortune.com/2016/08/05/money-america-iran/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), which was reported when it happened in January, has made headlines in recent weeks after U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and others claimed that the money amounted to ransom. The government says the payment settled a long-standing debt the U.S. owed to Iran before the current regime came to power. [ Read more at the _Wall Street Journal_.](http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-held-cash-until-iran-freed-prisoners-1471469256 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4457191/iran-deal-prisoners-cash-ransom/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4457191/iran-deal-prisoners-cash-ransom/"},"headline":"Report: U.S. Waited for Iran to Release Prisoners Before Handing Over Cash","datePublished":"2016-08-18T12:27:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:03:47.701Z","description":"The payment has come under fire from Donald Trump","url":"https://time.com/4457191/iran-deal-prisoners-cash-ransom/","keywords":["Foreign Policy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a1b053848c03df/6988a2c4fb4eac7def88ec77/amir-hekmati-iran-prisoner-release.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2a1b053848c03df/6988a2c4fb4eac7def88ec77/amir-hekmati-iran-prisoner-release.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"amir-hekmati-iran-prisoner-release","caption":"Amir Hekmati, the 32-year-old, former U.S. Marine, who had just been released from an Iranian prison, waves after arriving on a private flight at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Mich. on Jan. 21, 2016.","creditText":"Paul Sancya—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4457191/iran-deal-prisoners-cash-ransom/","name":"Report: U.S. Waited for Iran to Release Prisoners Before Handing Over Cash"}}]}] ```