Trump reveals conditions for releasing frozen Iranian funds
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Iranian funds will remain frozen until Tehran agrees to a long-term ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran. According to US President Donald Trump, after that, they can start talking.
The US President states that any unfreezing of Iranian assets will take place after an agreement is reached.
"If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking," says the US President
Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that any agreement may depend on at least a partial unfreezing of Tehran’s frozen assets, citing widespread distrust of U.S. negotiations.
How much of Iran's money is frozen
It is estimated that due to sanctions by the US and other countries, over $100 billion is frozen in Iran’s bank accounts around the world. Under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Iran was supposed to gain at least gradual access to these assets, under which Tehran scaled back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018.
Iranian state media reported that Iran is now demanding between $12 billion and $24 billion in frozen funds as part of a ceasefire agreement, insisting on a plan under which half of the funds would be released upon signing the agreement, and the other half later.
Situation between US and Iran
Trump is waiting for a deal, but everything could fall apart due to Iran’s ballistic missile strike on Israel yesterday. This attack was the first since April of this year.
Israel, in turn, wanted to strike back, but Trump urgently called Netanyahu, asking him not to do so, to avoid escalating tensions. Israel reportedly agreed to the US request.
However, it later emerged that Jerusalem had carried out strikes on military targets in Tehran. The attacks were carried out by air.
