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This article first appeared on the American Enterprise Institute site.

Back in September, I testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the allegation that the Obama administration had paid Iran a ransomat the time it was believed to be $400 million, but it was later revealed that the figure was more than three times that amountin cash for the release of American hostages held by Iran.

At the hearing, it is now clear that State Department officials lied outright to the committee.

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Washington Post reporter and former Tehran bureau chief Jason Rezaian and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on January 28, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Michael Rubin writes that the deputy intelligence director of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps bragged on February 23 that Iran forced the United States to pay $1.4 billion in ransom to win Rezaian's release. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Lest there be any question about how the Iranian government perceived the payment received from the United States, Hossein Nejat, deputy intelligence director of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,bragged on February 23that Iran forced the United States to pay $1.4 billion in ransom to win the release of imprisoned Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian.

Related: Iran payment was not ransom, White House says

What does this mean for the United States? Unfortunately, the damage is already done. The cash the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps received (for they were the entity that took possession of the ransom) will fuel greater terror as well as Irans campaigns in Syria, Yemenand perhaps Bahrain as well.

In 2010, the United States busted the Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington because the U.S. intelligence community was monitoring bank accounts known to be operated by the Quds force. Cash makes it far easier for Iran to move money without risk of detection.

Ironically, President Donald Trump kept on the official whom Barack Obama and Secretary of State Kerry placed in charge of the hostage negotiation. At the very least, it is time to publish the hostage agreement. Obama promised he would preside over the most transparent administration in history.

Five weeks after Obama left office, Trump has the power to hold his predecessor to that promise and expose the true mendacity of Obamas ransom deal.

Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. A former Pentagon official, his major research areas are the Middle East, Turkey, Iran and diplomacy.

Read more:
What Will Trump Do About Obama's Iran Ransom Deal? - Newsweek

Irans Ministry of Agriculture has lifted a ban on the import of Pakistani kinnow. Pakistans Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan also announced that fast progress will be made in trade between Pakistan and Iran, Associated Press of Pakistan reported. He said the relaxation in export of kinnows has been granted by Iran before the expected visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the Economic Cooperation Organization summit in Islamabad. The 13th ECO Summit will be held in Islamabad on Wednesday. There was great demand for Pakistan kinnow in Iran and it was a good step to lift the restriction three weeks before the Iranian national festival of Norouz, he said. He urged Pakistani exporters to take advantage of this opportunity. The border closure had an adverse impact on the export of kinnow to Afghanistan, but the traders would hopefully make up for the loss by selling kinnows to Iran, he said. The Pakistani minister added that the central banks of Iran and Pakistan would soon sign an agreement to establish banking relations, which will increase bilateral trade threefold. Khan said a joint economic conference of the two countries may be held in Tehran at the end of March.

Excerpt from:
Iran Lifts Ban on Pakistani Kinnow Import - Financial Tribune

New York Times

Asghar Farhadi, Iran's Master of the Ordinary, Wins a 2nd Oscar New York Times The Salesman, which features two of Iran's most prominent actors, Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini, tells a simple but gripping tale about a couple, both amateur actors, who move into an apartment previously occupied by a single mother, leaving ... Iranian director Asghar Farhadi wins Oscar, says in statement US 'disrespected' his country, othersFox News Iran & France Praise Asghar Farhadi's Foreign Language Oscar Win (& Boycott)Deadline Iran's 'The Salesman' wins Oscar for best foreign language filmReuters RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty -Chicago Tribune all 300 news articles »

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Asghar Farhadi, Iran's Master of the Ordinary, Wins a 2nd Oscar - New York Times

Then Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives at the presidential office to attend a welcoming ceremony for his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, in Tehran, Aug. 2, 2008. Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters

"In other words, the contemporary U.S. belongs to all nations, including the natives of the land," he wrote. "No one may consider themselves the owner and view others as guests or immigrants."

A judge later blocked Trump's travel ban, and an appeals court refused to reinstate it. Trump has promised to issue a revised order soon, saying it's necessary to keep America safe.

Entirely missing from the letter was any reference to Iran's nuclear program. Under Ahmadinejad's presidency, Iran found itself heavily sanctioned over the program as Western governments feared it could lead to the Islamic Republic building atomic weapons. Iran has long maintained its program was for peaceful purposes.

Iran under current President Hassan Rouhani struck a nuclear deal with world powers, including the Obama administration, to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. Trump campaigned promising to renegotiate the deal, without offering specifics.

Ahmadinejad gave the letter to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran. The embassy declined to comment Sunday while American officials could not be immediately reached.

The letter comes ahead of Iran's presidential election, in which Rouhani is widely expected to seek a second four-year term. While allies of Ahmadinejad are expected to run, he himself won't after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned him in September his candidacy would bring about a "polarized situation" that would be "harmful for the county."

Ahmadinejad's popularity in Iran remains in question. During his tenure, he personally questioned the scale of the Holocaust and predicted the demise of Israel. His disputed 2009 re-election saw widespread protests and violence. Two of his former vice presidents went to prison for corruption.

But Ahmadinejad offered Trump his own warning about how quickly time passes for leaders.

"Four years is a long period, but it ends quickly," he wrote. "The opportunity needs to be valued, and all its moments need to be used in the best way."

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

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Letter-Writing Former Iran President Pens Dispatch to Trump - NBCNews.com

New Zealand has inked an agreement with Iran paving the way for the resumption of meat exports to the second-biggest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The Iranian Veterinary Organisation and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries agreed to a meat arrangement which provides the conditions for chilled and frozen sheep and beef exports to resume with Iran, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guysays.

New Zealand meat exports to Iran failed to pick up following the lifting of sanctions last year because of Iranian requirements for one of its vets and a mullah to be present at the time of processing, while New Zealand meat exporters rely on halal standards overseen by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

The Iranian requirement for an official to oversee the processing of all product exported to Iran was difficult for New Zealand meat processors to comply with because they divide animals into a range of cuts for distribution to specific global markets.

"This is a crucial step for New Zealand meat companies as they look to re-enter the Iranian market," Mr Guy says.

Meat is New Zealand's second-biggest commodity export after dairyand was worth $5.92 billion in 2016.

The ministers also discussed an action plan for agricultural co-operation in the year ahead, Mr Guy says.

The two countries are also working on kiwifruit opportunities in Iran, where import restrictions prevent New Zealand from selling the country's most valuable fresh fruit export.

New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri International and Iran's Ministry of Agriculture signed a statement of intent outlining undertakings to further explore commercial opportunities in Iran.

Iran has well-established kiwifruit orchards and supply chains and produces the fruit in New Zealand's off-season, Mr Guy says.

Along with other Western countries, New Zealand lifted sanctions against Iran in February last year after the country agreed to roll back its nuclear ambitions

(BusinessDesk)

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Agreements signed with Iran on meat exports, kiwifruit opportunities - The National Business Review