Kristen Welker Presses Nikki Haley After She Connects $6 Billion Iran Prisoner Exchange to Hamas Attack: ‘No Proof of That’

NBC News’ Kristen Welker and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley battled over the latter’s insinuation that the U.S. gave money to Iran, thereby financially enabling Hamas to attack Israel.

Welker’s Meet The Press interview with the former United Nations ambassador was largely dominated by Israel declaring war after the Hamas attack resulted in hundreds of deths and scores of Israelis being kidnapped in Gaza. As Haley spoke about the attack’s repercussions, she noted Iran’s support for Hamas, which led to Welker questioning Haley on what she and her GOP rivals are saying now about the Biden administration.

When news of the attack broke across the United States, a number of Biden critics claimed the administration appeased Iran by giving them $6 billion months ago to facilitate a prisoner exchange, and then Iran used that money to fund Hamas’ attack. Hamas has said the Israel attacks were backed by Iran, though fact-checkers have pointed out that the $6 billion came from unfrozen Iranian oil revenue funds that are still conditioned for use only on humanitarian purposes, not for offensive attacks.

Earlier on Meet The Press, Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected the idea that U.S. taxpayer dollars allowed Iran to bankroll Hamas’ attack. Welker invoked Blinken’s comments and asked Haley: “Do you think it was irresponsible of your rivals to level that allegation without any evidence or proof?”

“I actually think it was irresponsible for Secretary Blinken to say that the $6 billion doesn’t weigh in here,” Haley answered. “Let’s be honest with the American people, and understand that Hamas knows, and Iran knows, they’re moving money around as we speak, because they know $6 billion is going to be released. That’s the reality… It doesn’t go to the Iranian people, it goes to terrorist attacks. And Secretary Blinken’s just wrong to imply that this money is not being moved around as we speak to hurt those that love freedom.”

“And yet, there’s just no proof of that yet,” Welker countered. “This is just the hours after that immediate attack. Is it irresponsible to level that charge when you really don’t have any evidence of that at this point in time?”

“The evidence is look at what the Iranian people have done to freedom-loving people around the world,” Haley said. “Look at what the Iranian people, the Iranian regime has done to threaten Israel over the years. To think that they’re not moving money around, it is irresponsible to say that to the American people. They are moving money around to threaten those they hate.”

Watch above via NBC.