President Joe Biden couldn't be bothered to visit any of the attack sites on the 2023 anniversary of 9/11, instead choosing to go to Vietnam and Alaska, where he delivered poorly received speeches. As tone-deaf as this administration is, it was still astonishing to read that they then chose this sacred day to announce a $6 billion deal with Iran, the country that our own State Department deems a “state sponsor of terrorism.” Unbelievable. 

As Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar reported, the Biden administration reached a deal with the Islamic Republic where we essentially give them billions in taxpayer dollars in exchange for the release of five American citizens being held there.

BREAKING - DISASTROUS WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING: @whitehouse's John Kirby struggles to explain why Joe Biden is negotiating with the 'terrorists' announcing on the day the US was attacked by 9/11 terrorists that they are sending Iran $6 billion and five Iranians in exchange for five… pic.twitter.com/mZN0jxYWG5

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 13, 2023

The full tweet from journalist Simon Ateba reads:

BREAKING - DISASTROUS WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING: 

@whitehouse's John Kirby struggles to explain why Joe Biden is negotiating with the 'terrorists' announcing on the day the US was attacked by 9/11 terrorists that they are sending Iran $6 billion and five Iranians in exchange for five Americans, claims it's not a ransom payment, claims the government of Iran will not have access to the money but the Iranian people will, claims the US will monitor how the billions are spent inside Iran. This is so CRAZY and so LAME. SAD. WATCH

Iran's gratitude for the moolah didn't last long, as they blocked U.N. inspectors from accessing nuclear sites over the weekend:

The development, which comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi prepares for a visit to New York City to address the U.N. General Assembly, adds a fresh layer to rising tensions over Tehran's nuclear activities.

In a rare statement, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Saturday that Iranian officials had informed him they will no longer permit certain International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to conduct “essential verification work at the enrichment facilities in Iran which are under Agency safeguards.”

Remember, this is essentially the same regime that former President Obama struck a nuclear pact with. Former President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018 because it was, according to the Trump White House archives, "a disastrous one-sided deal that failed to end Iran’s nuclear program and the full range of the regime’s malign activity" and " failed to protect American national security interests." 

The latest Iranian move was not well received by U.N. officials: 

“Iran has effectively removed about one-third of the core group of the agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran,” Mr. Grossi said.

The inspectors are in Iran to ensure compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Mr. Grossi acknowledged that under the NPT, Iran is permitted to veto individual inspectors it does not agree with. But the IAEA chief said Tehran‘s latest move is unwarranted.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is a 1970 international pact signed by 191 countries in an effort to stop nuclear weapons from becoming widespread. 

IAEA Director General’s statement on verification in Iran. https://t.co/MdZyoiUmCp pic.twitter.com/SiiKlKn2Wo

— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) September 16, 2023

The statement, issued by The International Atomic Energy Agency, of which Grossi is the Director General, continued:

I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of Agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the Agency and Iran.

This profoundly regrettable decision by Iran is another step in the wrong direction and constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the IAEA and Iran in the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement.