TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said here Monday that there is no connection between a prisoners exchange agreement with the United States and the release of Tehran’s assets frozen abroad “at the order of the U.S.”
“The exchange of prisoners is a completely humanitarian issue and has nothing to do with unblocking our funds in foreign banks,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting to commemorate journalists.
He said the recent agreement reached between Tehran and Washington, mediated by a third country, covers two separate issues, one relating to the prisoners swap and the other about unfreezing Iranian assets illegally blocked overseas under the pretext of U.S. sanctions.
The minister said the process to transfer released Iranian assets from South Korean banks to a European bank started on August 10 and will be completed in several phases.
The funds would be converted into euros in Europe within a few weeks before being deposited into another bank in a regional country, the top Iranian diplomat noted.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran can only access the assets to purchase non-sanctioned goods, which he said was a hostile move.
In a statement on Thursday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the start of a process to unblock $6 billion worth of the country’s assets frozen in South Korea, emphasizing, “Iran has received the necessary guarantee for the United States’ commitment to its obligations in this regard.”
In addition to unfreezing the funds, the ministry added, the release of those Iranian prisoners who had been arrested and held in American jails illegally and under the pretext of violating U.S. sanctions will be realized soon.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister reiterated the country’s full commitment to remove the unilateral U.S. sanctions against the country through diplomacy and negotiations but emphasized that Tehran will never settle for a temporary or limited agreement.
Amir-Abdollahian said that the removal of Washington’s unilateral and unfair sanctions through diplomacy has always been on the agenda of the Iranian administration.
He added that the “path of negotiations and indirect exchange of messages” between Iran and the U.S. has been in progress for months but Tehran has never been after “an interim or a small agreement.”
Iran has never strayed from the path of negotiations, he said.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman earlier said Tehran has received the necessary guarantee on U.S. commitment to a recent agreement to exchange prisoners and free Iran’s frozen assets abroad.
“The talks took nearly two years and the process of the release of prisoners and Iran’s financial sources will take place within the framework of the reached agreement,” Nasser Kanaani told a weekly news briefing.
“The U.S. has given a guarantee for the implementation of that deal,” he added.
Kanaani stressed that Iran, under the deal, “has full access to its own sources … and can buy all goods and what it needs using them, and the remaining will be turned into a deposit for which an interest rate will be paid.”
He said the talks for unfreezing Iranian assets are not directly linked to the negotiations aimed to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, but stressed that “issues can affect each other.”
The spokesman reiterated Iran’s commitment to continue the talks that are aimed at removing anti-Iran sanctions and to restore Iranian people’s rights.
Amir-Abdollahian further warned that the military presence of extra-regional powers in the Persian Gulf would increase security threats.
All the regional countries are keen to play a leading role in maintaining security in the region, he said.
“Our message to regional countries is nothing but peace and friendship. We defend security of all in the region,” the foreign minister said.
The United States has recently increased its military buildup in West Asia, deploying more than 3,000 sailors and Marine to the Persian Gulf under the pretext of protecting ships crossing the strategic waterways.