A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Saturday that the United States has agreed to release frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar and several other foreign banks in exchange for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian official described the move as a sign of “seriousness” in efforts to strike a deal with Washington during talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The US is yet to publicly comment on the reported asset release.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, the source said the unfreezing is “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” which is expected to be a central topic in the negotiations.
The $6 billion — initially frozen in 2018 — was scheduled for release in 2023 as part of a US-Iranian prisoner exchange.
However, the former United States President Joe Biden’s administration re-froze the funds after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group and Iranian ally.
At the time, US officials said Iran would not be able to access the money for the foreseeable future, stressing that Washington reserved the right to freeze the account entirely.
The assets originated from Iranian oil sales to South Korea and had been blocked in South Korean banks after then-President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, during his first term, and withdrew from a multinational nuclear deal with Tehran.
Strait of Hormuz: US to release frozen Iranian assets in exchange for ‘safe passage’
