Washington has agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets on the condition that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, according to media reports
11 April 17:02
The United States has agreed to unfreeze Iran’s financial assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Saturday ahead of a meeting between delegations from the two countries in Islamabad, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to the source, the release of Tehran’s funds is “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” which is expected to be a key issue in the negotiations. The source said that Iran views this U.S. intention as a sign of a “serious” approach to the negotiation process and reaching an agreement.
The source did not specify the value of the assets that Washington agreed to unfreeze; however, according to another Iranian source, the figure is $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds (the total amount exceeds $100 billion) held by Qatar. They were frozen by Washington in 2018. These funds were supposed to be unfrozen in 2023 as part of a U.S.-Iranian prisoner exchange, but following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by the Iranian proxy group Hamas in Israel, the administration of President Joe Biden froze them again.
This money represents South Korea’s payment for Iranian oil and was initially frozen in South Korean banks after Donald Trump reimposed sanctions against Iran and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal during his first presidential term in 2018.
As part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran that took place in September 2023, mediated by Doha, the funds were transferred to bank accounts in Qatar. The exchange involved the release of five U.S. citizens detained in Iran and the unblocking of the funds in return, as well as the release of five Iranians detained in the U.S.
U.S. authorities stated that this money was intended exclusively for humanitarian purposes and was to be distributed among approved suppliers of food, medicine, medical equipment, and agricultural products delivered to Iran under the supervision of the U.S. Treasury Department.
On April 11, a U.S. delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Pakistan, including Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. On the Iranian side, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi will participate in the talks; they arrived in Islamabad on Friday.
The Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported that talks between Tehran and Washington are expected to take place in the afternoon. However, Iranian officials have made it clear that a final decision on continuing the talks has not yet been made.
