TEHRAN: The United States will release $12 billion in frozen assets to Iran before the start of negotiations, Mehr news agency reported on Monday, quoting a 14-point memorandum of understanding between the two nations.
The document published by Mehr stipulated “the release of 24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets during the 60‑day negotiation period” that begins after the memorandum of understanding is concluded.
“Half of this amount must be made available to Iran before the start of the negotiations,” the text, which has not been officially confirmed, specifies.
UK, France, Germany and Italy prepared to lift Iran sanctions
LONDON: The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy said they were prepared to lift sanctions imposed on Iran, according to a joint statement Sunday, welcoming an agreement reached between the Washington and Tehran to end the war in the Middle East.
“We are prepared to lift relevant sanctions in response to clear, verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear programme. We will work intensively with the US, Iran and regional partners to seize this moment, maintain momentum and achieve a long-term diplomatic settlement,” the joint statement read.
“Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with the US, Iran and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to this end.”
The United States and Iran reached a deal to end their war, U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on Sunday.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform around 5:30 p.m. ET local time in Washington (2130 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after Sharif announced the agreement early on Monday local time in Pakistan.
The precise terms of the deal were not immediately known. Sharif said in a post on X that the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would be open “toll free” and that a U.S. naval blockade of Iran ports would also end.