TEHRAN -- Iran succeeded in freeing its blocked funds without the revival of the JCPOA nuclear accord, Tehran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani told the national television.
The United States was insisting all along during talks that Iran’s funds would be released only after a deal was reached on the revival of the nuclear deal, Bagheri-Kani said during a television interview Thursday evening.
However, “Iran’s diplomacy shaped conditions in such a way that the Americans were forced to retreat from their position and free Iran’s funds outside the framework of an agreement.”
Earlier this month, Iran and the United States announced that $6 billion frozen in South Korea due to U.S. sanctions will be released through Qatari mediation.
Bagheri-Kani also confirmed that talks over the release of prisoners were taking place alongside the negotiations in 2021-2022, but the process ended when the Ukraine war began in February 2022 and the delegations left Vienna after almost a year of periodic meetings.
He added that Iran continued pursuing the issue of the blocked funds through intermediaries and the U.S. was resisting. In September 2022, however, “Americans accepted to take steps for releasing the money outside the framework of the nuclear talks, after our persistent follow-ups.”
Bagheri-Kani said in his interview that riots in Iran briefly “distracted” the Biden administration, “but they quickly returned to the talks at the end of autumn.”
He also said Iran now has full control over its assets in other countries and can transfer them between foreign banks of its own choosing.
He said Iran has already taken control of a significant amount of its funds in Iraq.
“The (issue of) funds in Iraq were also raised in the understanding reached with the Americans and the process for their release has also started,” he said.
“We have no more blocked funds ... we receive the interest of the funds (held abroad) and use them for exchanges with countries and even transfer them to other areas for (financing) our purchases.”