The United States confirmed late Monday that it had agreed to transfer $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen in South Korea to a special account in Qatar, as part of an agreement concluded with Tehran in August to release prisoners.

This financial settlement was announced on August 10 as part of an agreement between Tehran and Washington, mediated by Qatar, to release American prisoners detained in Iran, and Iranians detained in the United States.

As part of the agreement, Iran transferred five Americans from prison to house arrest in a guarded hotel before transferring them to Qatar to be released upon transferring the frozen Iranian funds.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Congress that he had moved forward with a major part of the agreement, signing a waiver that would protect the banks participating in the transfer process from US sanctions.

A US State Department spokesman said that the transfer process "is an essential step in ensuring the release of these five American citizens."

The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden confirmed that Iran will be able to use the funds only to purchase food, medicine and humanitarian goods, which the Islamic Republic, which has been hostile to Washington since the Islamic Revolution overthrew the pro-Western Shah in 1979, opposes.

The spokesman, who requested anonymity, added, "We have not lifted any of our sanctions on Iran, and Iran will not receive any relief from the sanctions."

He continued, "We continue to confront the Iranian regime's human rights violations, its destabilizing actions abroad, its support for terrorism, and its support for Russia's war against Ukraine."

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani confirmed on Monday that Iran will be able to buy “any good not subject to US sanctions,” not just “medicines and foodstuffs.”

Kanaani said in a press conference, "We hope that the transfer will be completed in the coming days and that Iran will have full access to its assets."

He added, "We are optimistic that the prisoner exchange will take place soon."

The official IRNA news agency reported that the United States would release five Iranians within the framework of this agreement.
The five Americans remained detained in Iran for approximately eight years, and all of them are of Iranian origin, but Tehran does not recognize those holding dual citizenship.

Sources said earlier that they expected the five Americans to be released in mid-September.

Iran raised the $6 billion involved in the agreement by selling its oil to South Korea, an ally of the United States, which froze these funds after the Donald Trump administration imposed sanctions with its unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

The US State Department spokesman said, "As we said, no money will go to Iran directly and no taxpayer money will be used in this operation. The money frozen in South Korea is Iran's money."

Biden assumed the presidency of the White House hoping to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, under which Iran promised to restrict its controversial nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.

But the months-long talks did not produce as much fruit as expected, partly due to Iranian demands for the complete lifting of sanctions that were not directly related to the nuclear program.

Biden himself was seen in video recordings during an election campaign late last year saying that the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program was “as good as dead,” at a time when Iran was seeking to quell massive protests led by women against the backdrop of the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, after she was arrested by police. Morality in Tehran for not complying with the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic.

The operations to transfer the frozen funds and release the prisoners may coincide on the first anniversary of her death, at a time when Biden and his Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi, are attending the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York, but they are not expected to meet.

Republicans opposed to Biden continued their attack on the latter, considering that he agreed to pay a “ransom” to a country that Washington classifies as a sponsor of terrorism.

Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Mike McCaul said the money transfer “creates a direct incentive for adversaries of the United States to take hostages in the future.”

He added, "The American administration is showing weakness that further exposes Americans and freedom-loving people around the world to danger."

The Biden administration admitted that it was making difficult decisions, but stressed that its priority was to free American prisoners and that the money transferred was actually Iranian.

The group of Americans expected to be released includes businessman Siamak Namazi, who was arrested in 2015 and accused of espionage based on what his family calls ridiculous evidence, such as his previous connections to American research centers, environmental activist Murad Tahbaz and investor Imad Sharqi, in addition to two others who preferred not to disclose their details. Their identities.