U.S. Representative Ed Royce, (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Royce demanded Secretary of State John Kerry explain the timing of a $1.7 billion claim settlement paid to Iran. Photo: U.S. Congress.

A powerful US lawmaker on Wednesday demanded Secretary of State John Kerry provide an explanation of a $1.7 billion claim settlement paid to Iran just as Tehran released American prisoners last month.

Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote that the timing of the settlement and the administration’s failure to brief Congress “has led some to express concern that the payment represents a de facto ‘ransom’ for the release of American hostages.”

Read full story at Reuters.