Iran’s president says $6B in frozen assets in Qatar to be released as US talks challenged
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s president said Monday that $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen because negotiations with the United States were difficult will be released by Qatar. Attacks in the Persian Gulf this weekend.
Massoud Pezeshkian Oman’s talk of funds appears aimed at selling the Iranian public on the interim deal, especially at a time when Oman’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz is being challenged by Oman’s efforts to open its territorial waters to both inbound and outbound traffic from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s attacks and threats have prevented cargo ships and tankers from passing through the strait, through which about a fifth of peacetime oil and gas trade passes, leading to a global energy crisis.
The Strait has long been considered an international waterway, despite being located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked ships passing a route close to the Omani side; This prompted retaliatory American air strikes and raised concerns that negotiations to formally end the war might be disrupted. Iran targeted UAV and missile attacks bahrain And Kuwait Sunday.
Pakistan, a key mediator, said talks on the terms of the interim agreement between the United States and Iran will continue on Tuesday. The Trump administration said Sunday that nothing had been canceled and that technical talks would continue in the coming days. Iran has not yet said whether it will participate.
Pezeshkian says 6 billion dollars will come to Iran
Pezeshkian praised the interim agreement in comments published Monday by the state-run IRNA news agency, calling it “a great victory for the Iranian people.”
“According to the plans, 6 billion dollars of the total 12 billion dollars of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country and the necessary follow-ups are being carried out,” he said. He did not make a detailed statement.
Pezeshkian, a reformer in the Iranian theocracy, is the most senior official within Iran to talk about releasing funds held by Qatar, which has been a key mediator along with Pakistan in the negotiations. US officials say frozen Iranian assets have not been released so far. Qatar also refused to agree to such a transfer, and Iran attacked a tanker full of Qatari crude during crossfire in the Persian Gulf this weekend.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
