Dennis Ross Looks at Terrorism Funding by Iran

U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the U.S. House leadership as senior deputy whip, insisted Iran is helping fund terrorism.

Ross sits on the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing and focused on Iran at a meeting on Wednesday, asking Johnathan Schanzer, the VP of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about Iran.

Would you say there is a great deal of cooperation between the various terrorist groups? Ross asked. I mean, between Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Shabaab its almost as if would one draw the conclusion that there is a terrorist central bank?

Well, I would say that Iran is probably the terrorist central bank in terms of the connections it has in terms of all of these various terrorist groups, Schanzer replied. And there is this notion out there that Sunnis and Shiites dont work together but there is a significant cell of al-Qaida operatives and financiers based in Iran.

Iran is the lead sponsor of radical Islamic terrorism throughout the world today. At the same time, President Obama and his administration are in the process of negotiating an agreement with Iran that would end current economic sanctions, allowing an estimated $50 billion to enter their economy, Ross said. These funds will be nearly impossible to keep out of the hands of terrorist groups. This administration must not strike a deal with Iran that allows them to contribute more financial resources to radical Islamic terrorists across the globe.