White House denies paying $400 million in ransom to Iran

The White House is denying claims that Barack Obama’s administration paid US $400 million to Iran as a ransom.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday  the U.S. “secretly organized” an airlift of $400 million dollars in Euros, Swiss Francs and other currencies to the Middle Eastern country at the same time five Americans were released.

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0:48 McCain calls report on US paying Iran ransom ‘most shameful’ action by any administration

But the money wasn’t sent there to release the hostages, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday at a press briefing.

“It is against the policy of the United States to pay ransom for hostages,” Earnest said.

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1:43 American prisoners arrive home from Iran amid new sanctions imposed by U.S.

The sum was instead part of a $1.7 billion settlement to Iran over a dispute that went before an international tribunal in The Hague, Earnest explained.

The dispute was regarding a failed sale of U.S. warplanes to Iran before the 1979 overthrow of Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi and the start of the Islamic Revolution.

“This $400 million is actually money that the Iranians had paid into a U.S. account in 1979 as part of a transaction to procure military equipment,” Earnest said. “That military equipment … was not provided to the Iranians in 1979 because the Shah of Iran was overthrown.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This $400 million is actually money that the Iranians had paid into a U.S. account in 1979 as part of a transaction to procure military equipment," Earnest said. "That military equipment … was not provided to the Iranians in 1979 because the Shah of Iran was overthrown."

The settlement also came as the U.S. and other Western countries (including Canada) lifted international sanctions on Iran before imposing nuclear sanctions.

READ MORE: UN agency report shows Iran mostly complying with nuke deal

When asked if it was just a coincidence, Earnest said no.

“This all came to a head at the same time because we were addressing and resolving longstanding concerns with Iranian behaviour,” he told reporters.

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Republicans are seizing the opportunity and using the Wall Street Journal report to further condemn the Democrats and the Obama administration for brokering last year’s historic nuclear deal.

WATCH: Donald Trump says captured American sailors ‘would’ve had to wait until he became president if U.S. hadn’t paid’

0:43 Donald Trump says captured American sailors ‘would’ve had to wait until he became president if U.S. hadn’t paid’

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called out Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for starting the talks in Iran, though she was no longer serving as secretary of state when the deal was completed.

“Our incompetent Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was the one who started talks to give 400 million dollars, in cash, to Iran. Scandal!” Trump tweeted.

“It would also mark another chapter in the ongoing saga of misleading the American people to sell this dangerous nuclear deal,” Paul Ryan wrote in a statement online. “Yet again, the public deserves and explanation of the lengths this administration went to in order to accommodate the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”