US Denies Release of Iran’s $3.5 Billion in Blocked Assets
The US State Department spokesperson denied the release of Iran’s blocked assets, stating that Washington’s allies have also taken no action regarding frozen funds. Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs had announced the release of $3.5 billion.
Ned Price, spokesperson for the US State Department, during a press conference on Thursday, December 18 (December 9), denied claims by an Iranian official about the release of billions of dollars in blocked Iranian assets.
Price emphasized: “Neither we nor our partners have made blocked funds available to Iran.”
Mahdi Safaei, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs and former Iranian ambassador to China, stated that Iran recently received $3.5 billion that had been frozen as part of sanctions.
Safaei also announced the release of Iran’s claims from “one of the countries” in the near future.
He provided no further details regarding the $3.5 billion released.
Billions of dollars in Iranian assets have been blocked in several countries around the world due to economic sanctions on the country, including South Korea, Iraq, and India. These assets are mainly related to crude oil exports to these countries.
The news or “rumor” of the release of Iran’s blocked assets has been circulated several times before.
The news of the release of $3.5 billion of Iran’s frozen money was originally published in November on the Twitter account of Ali Naderi, the director general of Iran’s state news agency, and Mahdi Safaei repeated it on state television.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs claimed that during a visit to “a European country,” negotiations were held for the release of Iran’s funds that had “good results.” He told state television: “I cannot disclose the amount.”
Source: DW
