Khatibzadeh: Part of Iran’s Blocked Funds Will Be Released
According to Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “a senior delegation” will travel to Tehran by the end of the week to release some of Iran’s blocked funds, and the actual release will take place in the “near future.”
Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced the release of some of Iran’s blocked funds in the “near future.”
Khatibzadeh, who answered questions from domestic and foreign journalists at a press conference on Monday morning, April 11 (Farvardin 22), stated, “a senior delegation will travel to Tehran by the end of the week for this purpose” and “the actual release” will take place.
He refrained from disclosing the name of the country and the amount of funds to be released.
Some Iranian media outlets have speculated that South Korean officials will soon travel to Iran and discuss the release of Iran’s blocked funds in that country. However, South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials have not confirmed this news.
On the sidelines of talks on returning to the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria, Choi Chang-kan, deputy foreign minister of South Korea, met and held talks with Ali Bagheri, political deputy of Iran’s foreign minister. During this meeting, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister said that his country is making efforts to repay its debt to Iran.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency also reported on January 29, citing an informed source, that in February, South Korea and Iran will consult in Seoul to resolve years-long disputes over Tehran’s blocked assets in South Korean banks.
Some Iranian domestic media outlets reported in recent days that negotiations had taken place so that in exchange for the release of Siamak Namazi, Mohammad Bagheri Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz, three dual Iranian-American prisoners, 7 billion in Iranian funds would be released.
Robert Malley, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, said on January 23 in an interview with Reuters: “It is very difficult for us to imagine returning to the nuclear agreement while four innocent Americans are being held hostage by Iran.”
According to him, the United States is engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran over the nuclear agreement and also to “ensure the release of its hostages.”
JCPOA “In the Recovery Room”
Part of Iran’s assets in countries such as South Korea, China, India, Japan, Iraq, and Oman have been blocked. India’s debt to Iran is said to be around seven billion dollars. Iraq has also blocked around two billion dollars of the Islamic Republic’s assets. There is no precise information about the exact amount of Iran’s assets in other countries.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, in another part of his remarks, in response to journalists’ questions about negotiations on returning to the JCPOA, said that the United States has yet to demonstrate “definitive willingness” to return to the commitments stated in the JCPOA and UN Security Council resolutions.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, while stating that “the JCPOA is alive and in the recovery room,” emphasized: “The window of opportunity is not open forever.”
Source: DW
