“The process of releasing billions of dollars of Iranian assets, illegally seized by the US for several years, has commenced,” Bagheri Kani wrote on X.
“Tehran has received the guarantee of Washington’s commitments. The release of several Iranians who were illegally detained in America is in this context,” he added.
On Thursday, media outlets reported that Iran and the US had reached a prisoner swap deal that also included the release of Iranian funds held in South Korea.
Later on Thursday, a source told official IRNA that Iran has managed to secure the release of more than 10 billion worth of funds that have been illegally blocked in South Korea and Iraq for several years because of US sanctions. The statement issued by the source said the funds in South Korea had already been changed into euro in a bank in Switzerland and were ready to be transferred to an account in the central bank of Qatar as agreed under the prisoner swap deal with the US. The source confirmed reports that the prisoners had been transferred “to a place outside prison” for the purpose of exchange, adding, however, that they would not be freed until the funds were transferred to accounts designated by Iran.
Reacting to the issue, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the release of Americans in Iran from prison is a positive step”.
“This is just the beginning of a process that I hope and expect will lead to their return home to the United States,” Blinken told reporters during a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena Ibarra, according to Anadolu Agency.
Making anti-Iran comments, Blinken once again accused Iran of taking destabilizing measures steps in the region and said, “In any event, in any respect, Iran will not be receiving any sanctions relief.”
The bilateral ties between South Korea and Iran frayed in recent years due to Iranian money frozen at two commercial banks in Korea – Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea – since 2018 when the Donald Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and reimposed sanctions on Iran afterward. Tehran has long called on Seoul to release the funds.
