Diane and John Foley, parents of Islamic State murder victim James Foley, said they believe it's important to talk about whether the Obama administration's
$400 million payment to Iran was ransom to get hostages released.
The Foleys made the comments during an interview with New Hampshire reporter Keke Vencil,
NH1 News reported.
"I think it's important that we engage everyone in dialogue, particularly if they're our enemies or people we disagree with, because I don't think there's any way we figure out, or have peace, or understand one another if we don't talk," Diane Foley said.
John Foley questioned the connection between hostages being released and the money being paid to Iran.
"The message might be lost, but four human beings were freed. That's the focus. Four people are home. Yes, everybody wants to figure out, well, was this ransom? Was it not ransom?"
President Barack Obama said, "This was not some nefarious deal." He also said it was not ransom, but a refund for an arms deal that was made before the 1979 revolution in Iran.
"We do not pay ransom for hostages," Obama said. "The notion we'd start now defies logic," he added.
Diane and John Foley's son James was a freelance reporter killed by ISIS in a video posted of his beheading. An HBO documentary on his life, "Jim: The James Foley Story" got a
four-star review on The AV Club website.
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