Iran claimed on Sunday that the unfreezing of Iranian funds abroad would result from Tehran’s release of two Americans who had been detained.
The United Nations announced on Saturday that Siamak Namazi, his son, was released from detention in Tehran and that Baquer Namazi, 85, was permitted to leave Iran for overseas medical treatment. (Iran’s Release of Americans and Funds)
According to Iranian state media on Sunday, Iran is now awaiting the release of approximately $7 billion in funds that have been frozen abroad.
The Iranian state news agency IRNA stated, “With the finalization of negotiations between Iran and the United States to release the prisoners of both countries, $7 billion of Iran’s blocked resources will be released.”
The State Department and White House, on the other hand, denied any connection.
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told Reuters on Sunday, “Reports from Iranian sources of a transfer of funds related to the release of Baquer Namazi and furlough of Siamak Namazi are categorically false.”
“Baquer Namazi was unjustly detained in Iran and then not permitted to leave the country after serving his sentence, despite his repeated requirement for urgent medical attention,” a spokesperson for the State Department told AFP.
This official stated, “We understand that the removal of the travel ban and his son’s furlough were related to his medical requirement.”
Since the United States reimposed severe sanctions on Iran in 2018 after unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers, billions of dollars in Iranian funds have been frozen in China, South Korea, and Japan.
Tehran has repeatedly pleaded with South Korean authorities to release $7 billion of its funds, alleging that Seoul is holding it “hostage.”
“Washington is pursuing simultaneously the release of its citizens detained in Tehran and the release of Iranian funds in South Korea,” the IRNA reported on Sunday. (Iran’s Release of Americans and Funds)
The new information comes as intermittent talks have been taking place since April 2021 to reopen the 2015 agreement, which provided Iran with much-needed relief from sanctions in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
Iran has repeatedly demanded that sanctions be lifted and that assurances be given that the United States will not withdraw from a renegotiated agreement.
Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official, was detained in February 2016 while traveling to Iran to advocate for Siamak Namazi, his son, who had been arrested in October of the previous year.
In October 2016, both were found guilty of espionage and given a ten-year prison sentence.
In 2018, the father, who had been under house arrest while completing his sentence, was granted medical leave of absence.
