The governments of the United States and Qatar have agreed to prevent Iran from accessing the $6 billion in assets they had previously agreed to unfreeze for the Islamist nation.
The $6 billion was initially planned to be released and given to Iran as part of an exchange of prisoners between the Biden administration and the Iranian government. The $6 billion is comprised of Iranian oil revenues that had been frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. and Qatar have agreed to hold off on disbursing any of the $6 billion in Iranian oil proceeds that Washington had previously freed up as part of prisoner swap https://t.co/DMFIfzGPq8
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 12, 2023
According to two sources who were in the room when the announcement was made, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo did not give a timeframe for how long Iran will be blocked from accessing the money. Adeyemo told House Democrats about the decision on Thursday.
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Adeyemo’s specific phrasing to House Democrats was that the unfrozen Iranian assets “isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” according to an exclusive Punchbowl News report.
This decision comes after mounting pressure on the Biden administration to retract its deal with Iran, in light of the outbreak of war in Israel. Many suspect Iran had a role in funding the Hamas operation. In fact, Hamas and Hezbollah were reported to have said earlier this week that Iran helped Hamas strategize their attack against Israel. Later, Hamas denied the claim but stated Iran would provide support if needed.
In early September, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told NBC’s Lester Holt that Iran viewed the $6 billion as entirely theirs, and insisted that Iran does not have to spend it solely on humanitarian causes as the Biden administration claimed they would.
“This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” he said according to an Iranian state translation.
“Humanitarian means whatever the Iranian people needs,” he went on, “so this money will be budgeted for those needs, and the needs of the Iranian people will be decided and determined by the Iranian government.”
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