The Obama administration said on Wednesday that $400 million in cash paid to Iran the same day as the release of Americans detained there was not a ransom, as some Republicans have charged. The five prisoners, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, were released in January. The White House had announced before the prisoners’ release that it would send Iran $400 million in funds as part of the landmark nuclear deal. The money has been owed to Iran since the 1970s, when the U.S. refused to give them weapons Iran had already paid for, following the Iranian revolution. But the timing of the transfer was only first reported in The Wall Street Journal this week, fueling allegations it was linked to the release of the prisoners.