Reuters reported that the United States had agreed to release around $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds held in Qatar.
There was no immediate response from the United States regarding any such unfreezing. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also did not immediately comment on the reports.
Frozen Funds
The $6 billion, originally frozen in 2018, had been expected to be released in 2023 as part of a US–Iran prisoner exchange. However, the funds were re-frozen by the administration of US President Joe Biden following the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, an Iranian ally.
At the time, US officials said Iran would not be able to access the money for the foreseeable future, stressing that Washington retained the authority to keep the account fully frozen.
The funds originated from Iranian oil sales to South Korea and were held in South Korean banks after US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, during his first term, and withdrew from the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.
Under a September 2023 US–Iran prisoner swap mediated by Doha, the funds were transferred to bank accounts in Qatar. The deal saw the release of five US citizens detained in Iran in exchange for five Iranian nationals held in the United States.
US officials said at the time that the money would be strictly limited to humanitarian use, to be disbursed via approved channels for food, medicine, medical equipment, and agricultural goods imported into Iran under US Treasury oversight.
