The money released from Iraqi banks would be spent covering the hajj season and buying some of the country's basic commodities. The Iraqi government has asked Washington to solve the problem of financial dues to Iran for its exports of gas and electricity to Iraq.
There are no official figures for the amount of Iranian funds frozen abroad, but unofficial figures indicate that there are about $50 billion each in China, Iraq, Japan and South Korea that cannot be transferred to Iran due to sanctions. Iran has denied reports that it is about to reach an interim agreement with the United States.