House Democrat Calling for Biden to Freeze Iran’s $6 Billion Has History of Backing Gaza Aid

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 24, 2020. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) is among the U.S. lawmakers on a growing list of House members calling on President Joe Biden to refreeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets that he unfroze just before Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,400 Israeli men, women, and children in an Oct. 7 massacre.

“As we continue to stand with Israel and mourn those lost in this unjustified and horrific terrorist attack, the United States must explore all options available to us to hold Hamas and their Iranian backers accountable,” Mr. Allred said in a statement made public on Oct. 11.

“While Hamas deserves the lion’s share of the blame, Iran cannot go unpunished for its role. With this in mind, I am calling on the administration to immediately freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets,” he stated.

Mr. Allred’s announcement likely would have gained little notice but for two factors.

First, he said on May 3 on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he’s seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as the latter seeks his third term as the Lone Star State’s junior senator.

The Dallas Democrat got a strong boost shortly thereafter when it was reported that he had raised $6.2 million, compared with the incumbent’s $4.4 million.

Mr. Allred is the heavy favorite for the nomination, as currently, only two little-known Democrats are opposing him.

The Cruz–Allred battle is sure to be among the most watched elections in 2024, as the Republican incumbent weathered a strong 2018 challenge from Democrat Beto O'Rourke by only 3 percentage points.

The Progressive Turnout Project’s Alex Morgan told Time Magazine in May that he sees Mr. Cruz as the most vulnerable GOP Senate incumbent.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks on Title 42 immigration policy in Washington on May 3, 2023. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The second reason that Mr. Allred’s $6 billion freeze announcement raised eyebrows is his uncomfortable history of backing U.S. aid to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 2021 that a State Department counterterrorism financing expert said could benefit the Hamas terror organization.

Hamas has had total control of the area since Israel’s withdrawal in 2006, and other Muslim terrorist operations.

Since then, Hamas has launched thousands of guided and unguided rockets into Israel, killing many people, and has trained terrorists and sent them on suicide attacks in public places.

The massive surprise attack from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 killed the most Jews in one day since the Nazi Holocaust.

Soon after taking office in 2021, President Biden gave orders to restart the flow of U.S. aid to the Gaza Strip that his predecessor in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump, had halted.

With as much as $350 million in renewed assistance at stake, Republicans in Congress and elsewhere immediately raised objections. Among them was Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who exercised Senate privilege by placing a hold on $50 million of the authorizing legislation.

Mr. Allred was one of 145 House Democrats who signed a June 2, 2021, letter to Mr. Risch asking him to end his hold.

“We write with a great sense of urgency to respectfully request that you release your hold on tens of millions of dollars in appropriated humanitarian aid that is so desperately needed to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians rebuilding their lives in the wake of the fighting between Hamas and Israel earlier this month.”

Mr. Risch’s concern was that some part of the U.S. aid going to the Palestinian Authority would end up benefitting Hamas by helping to finance benefits to the families of suicide bombers.

That concern was shared within the Department of State.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) leaves the Senate chambers during a series of votes in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on May 11, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In a March 2021 internal memorandum obtained recently by the nonprofit advocacy group Protect the Public’s Trust through a Freedom of Information Act request, a State Department counterterrorism official described Hamas as “a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).”

“Other terrorist groups are present in the West Bank and Gaza, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

“[Due to its overall strength and level of control over Gaza, we assess there is a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza. There is less, but still some risk, U.S. assistance would benefit other designated groups].”

The memo’s author, Andrew Weinschenk, then-director of the Office of Threat Finance Counter-Measures in the State Department, couldn’t be reached for comment.

The memo was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

Mr. Cruz was quick to respond to Mr. Allred’s call to refreeze the $6 billion.

In a post on X the following day, Mr. Cruz wrote: “What about the millions you urged Biden to send to Gaza, even though the admin concluded that there was a ‘high risk’ that dollars would be used by Hamas for terrorism? Should that ... be halted too? [Hint: yes.]”

Mr. Allred’s difficulties regarding Israel and Islamic terrorism aren’t limited to the present controversy over his position on freezing the $6 billion for Iran.

The National Republican Congressional Committee criticized the Texas Democrat in 2019 for praising Omar Suleiman, a Texas-based imam who has compared Israel to the Ku Klux Klan and accused the Jewish state of genocide.

Mr. Allred’s spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.