Has Washington Agreed To Release Frozen Iranian Assets? US Official Responds Amid Islamabad Talks

As the US-Iran ceasefire talks are underway in Pakistan, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Saturday that the US had agreed to release $6 million in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, welcoming the move as a sign of “seriousness” in reaching a deal to end the war in West Asia.

According to the source, unfreezing the assets was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, which is expected to be a key issue in the Islamabad talks. A second Iranian source told Reuters that the United States had agreed to release $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds held by Qatar.

US-Iran Ceasefire Talks In Islamabad Live Updates

US Denies Reports

However, a US official told CBS News that Washington had not agreed to release

any Iranian frozen assets, refuting previous media reports.

The reports surfaced as the US and Iranian delegations met in Islamabad for ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war in West Asia. US Vice President JD Vance held a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The $6 billion, originally frozen in 2018, had been due for release in 2023 as part of a US-Iranian prisoner swap but the funds were again frozen by the administration of President Joe Biden following the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.

US officials said at the time that Iran would not be able to access the money for the foreseeable future, stressing that Washington retained the right to completely freeze the account.

Why Were The Funds Frozen?

The funds stem from Iranian oil sales to South Korea and had been blocked in South Korean banks after US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 – during his first term in the White House – and scrapped a deal between world powers and Tehran over its nuclear programme.

Under the US–Iran prisoner swap mediated by Doha in September 2023, the money was transferred to Qatari bank accounts. The prisoner swap involved the release of five US citizens detained in Iran in exchange for the funds’ release and the release of five Iranians held in the United States.

(with inputs from agencies)