U.S. to Unfreeze $6 Billion for Iran After Deal

According to the outlet, the decision became part of a package of financial incentives with which the White House hopes to secure Iran’s compliance with the memorandum of understanding signed on Wednesday and its participation in further negotiations on the nuclear program.

The funds are expected to be released in stages during the 60-day extended truce provided for by the agreement. Their release will depend on the resumption of operations in the Strait of Hormuz and progress in negotiations on a final settlement. A diplomat familiar with the terms of the deal told FT that the money could be used only to buy American goods.

The White House declined to comment on the details of the FT report. At the same time, a U.S. official said Washington could unfreeze some Iranian assets at the final stage of negotiations if Tehran demonstrates “good behavior,” including by handing over its stockpiles of enriched uranium.

After the article was published, another person familiar with the discussions said the scheme was still only under consideration and would have to be the subject of more detailed negotiations.

The Trump administration also plans to issue a temporary exemption that would allow Iran to export oil during the 60-day period. On Thursday, Washington said it had lifted the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

By some estimates, tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues remain frozen in foreign central banks because of U.S. sanctions, including funds in India, Iraq, China and Japan. Iranian state media reported that Tehran expects to receive $12 billion during the temporary period of the agreement.

The $6 billion had previously been held in South Korea but was transferred to an account in Doha after Joe Biden’s administration agreed a prisoner swap with Iran in September 2023.

At the time, the deal was seen as a confidence-building measure that Washington hoped would help persuade Tehran to limit its uranium-enrichment program. It was concluded after nuclear talks between the Biden administration and Iran failed a year earlier. But expectations of further progress were derailed after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent escalation in the region. As a result, Iran never gained access to the funds.

A diplomat familiar with the current deal told FT that Trump “took Biden’s bad deal,” limited the use of the funds to humanitarian and non-sanctioned goods, and ensured that the money would be spent on American products. According to the diplomat, this creates a situation in which Iran receives humanitarian goods while Iranian money supports American manufacturers.

Defending the interim agreement on Wednesday, Trump said his administration would unlock frozen Iranian funds and lift sanctions “as soon as they behave properly.”

“We took their money, it’s their money,” Trump said. According to him, if the United States does not return it, “no one will ever invest in the dollar again.”

Under the agreement, the United States must lift all types of sanctions against Iran, including U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to an agreed timetable as part of a final deal.

Washington and Tehran also agreed to resolve the issue of Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpiles through a mechanism that the sides must agree separately. At a minimum, Tehran will have to dilute uranium stockpiles on its territory under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to FT, Iran has more than 9,000 kg of such material, including 440 kg of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade level. Trump had previously demanded that Tehran hand over these stockpiles to the United States.

The agreement drew criticism from some Republicans and Trump’s opponents in the United States. They believe the president is making too many concessions to Tehran as he seeks to lower oil prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies had previously passed, led to the largest energy crisis in decades.

On Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, officially responded to the memorandum for the first time and conditionally backed the interim agreement with the United States. He said he had authorized the signing of the arrangement after receiving guarantees from President Masoud Pezeshkian, who, as head of the Supreme National Security Council, promised to “protect the rights of the Iranian nation and the resistance front” in the region.

Khamenei stressed that Iran’s consent should not be perceived as a concession to U.S. pressure. According to him, further negotiations will not mean “accepting the enemy’s point of view.”