Washington allows foreign banks to release $6 billion to Iran

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has notified Congress and foreign banks of the transfer of $6 billion to Iran via Doha, which are financial assets that were frozen in South Korea as part of a package of sanctions on Tehran.

This came according to what was reported by the news agency "Bloomberg" on Tuesday, which said that it obtained a copy of the notification issued by the US State Department.

Blinken assured Congress that the $6 billion would be held in restricted accounts in Qatar, where it would only be available for trade for humanitarian needs.

The United States paved the way for the repatriation of those billions of oil revenues to Tehran, following an extradition deal for prisoners with American citizenship held in Iran.

Until the early hours of this morning, no official statement was issued by the US State Department, or any official body confirming what was contained in the notification, which was quoted by "Bloomberg".

The notification issued by the US State Department allows German, Irish, Qatari, South Korean and Swiss banks to transfer $ 6 billion, which were frozen in South Korea, without falling under US sanctions.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that it expects to transfer frozen assets abroad to the country within days, as part of an agreement signed with Washington last August.

On August 10, Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed al-Khulaifi revealed what the ministry said on platform X that Doha's mediation between the United States and Iran had reached an agreement that would release prisoners.

On August 12, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Reza Farzin, announced the release of all his country's frozen balances in South Korea, explaining that they will be deposited in the European currency (euro) soon in the accounts of 6 Iranian banks.

The United States has conditioned the use of these funds in purchases and channels serving citizens in Iran, with Blinken quoted as saying last month that the money would be placed in restricted accounts to ensure that it was not used in contravention of sanctions on Tehran.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani confirmed today that his country is free to use these amounts to buy any products that are not subject to US sanctions.