The negotiations were conducted discreetly. The United States confirmed on Monday (September 11th) that it would allow the transfer of six billion dollars of Iranian funds frozen to South Korea, as part of the agreement reached in August with Iran on a prisoner exchange.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "initialed an exemption allowing the transfer of these funds" in a formal notification to the U.S. Congress, a State Department spokesman said Monday, adding that this was done last week.

"As previously announced, the United States has agreed to the transfer of funds from South Korea to restricted accounts held in Qatar and the release of five Iranian nationals currently detained in the United States in order to facilitate the release of five U.S. citizens detained in Iran," the source said.

"We have not lifted any of the sanctions against Iran and Iran is not receiving any sanctions relief," the spokesman said.

Earlier Monday, a senior Iranian official said Tehran hoped to finalize in "the coming days" the transfer of its frozen funds to South Korea.

"We hope that the transfer will be completed in the coming days and that Iran will have full access to its assets," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told a news conference.

'No money goes directly to Iran'

Iran could use the six billion dollars for humanitarian purchases such as food and medicine.

Kanani, however, said Monday that Iran could buy "any property not sanctioned" by the United States, and "fully use these released funds" not only to buy "medicine and food".

For Washington, however, "no money goes directly to Iran and no taxpayer money is used. The funds held in South Korea are Iranian funds."

"These funds will be transferred to restricted accounts in Qatar and the United States will have a say in how they are spent and when," the spokesman added.

The financial arrangement was announced on August 10 as part of an agreement between Tehran and Washington, mediated by Qatar, to release American prisoners held in Iran and Iranians held in the United States.

"We are optimistic that the prisoner exchange will take place soon," Kanani said.

Easing tensions

As part of the deal, Tehran placed five Iranian-American detainees under house arrest ahead of their likely transfer to Qatar for release.

Experts say the deal, reached after very discreet negotiations, shows an easing of tensions between Iran and the United States, which has not maintained diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. But it does not prejudge a possible agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue.

European-led negotiations failed in 2022 to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, moribund since the unilateral withdrawal of the United States in 2018 under President Donald Trump.

The agreement comes a year after the start of protests in Iran following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, and ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York, which is expected to be attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

" READ ALSO A year of uprisings in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini

Criticism of the Republican camp

In the United States, Joe Biden's Republican opponents protested, describing the president as accepting the payment of a "ransom" to a state deemed by Washington to support terrorism.

This transfer "directly incites America's adversaries to carry out new hostage-takings," said Mike McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The administration is showing a weakness that only further endangers Americans and freedom-loving people around the world," he said.

The Biden administration acknowledged that it had made difficult choices, stressing that its priority was to free the Americans and that the money already belonged to Iran.

Among the five Americans to be released is Siamak Namazi, a businessman arrested in 2015 and charged with espionage based on what his family says is paltry evidence, such as past affiliations with U.S. think tanks.

The others are Morad Tahbaz, a wildlife advocate, Emad Sharqi, a venture capitalist, and two others who wished to remain anonymous.

With AFP

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