"Giving Iran access to these funds for any purpose frees up money for its malign activities, including its support to proxies, like we saw on 7 October, like Hamas," Representative Michael McCaul – who introduced the bill – told reporters.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) speaks in support of the "No Funding For Iranian Terror Act" on the House floor on Nov. 30, 2023. Credit: YouTube/House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans.

The US Senate has introduced similar legislation to freeze the Iranian funds but has yet to pass it out of committee.

Despite the accusations from western officials, Iranian authorities maintain they had no previous knowledge of the plans by Hamas to launch Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and have repeatedly stressed Tehran has no interest in seeing the hostilities expand into a regional war.