Iran media says negotiators seek $24bn asset release in US deal

TEHRAN: Iranian media said Tuesday that Tehran’s negotiators were seeking the release of around $24 billion in frozen assets abroad as part of a process aimed at ending the war with the United States.

The report by Tasnim news agency came as a top Iranian delegation was in Qatar, and after Tehran said it was finalising a 14-point framework for a deal on ending the war, which began with US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28.

“Iran’s frozen assets are to be released during the course of the negotiations, and this amount is estimated at $24 billion in accordance with the 14-point memorandum of understanding,” Tasnim quoted an unnamed source close to the negotiating team as saying.

Around half of that sum “should be made available at the start of the announcement of the memorandum,” it added.

Tasnim was the only Iranian outlet carrying the report.

Top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati arrived in Qatar on Monday for talks.

On Tuesday, Tasnim said Ghalibaf’s visit to Qatar was “aimed at reaching an understanding on the implementation of Iran’s demand and the method of accessing $12 billion in the first phase,” among other issues.

There is no official figure for the amount of frozen Iranian assets abroad, though Iranian media have recently estimated the total at between $100 billion and $123 billion.

In 2023, $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds held in South Korean banks was transferred to Qatar pending the release of five American citizens detained in Iran.

The funds were never released as relations between Washington and Tehran deteriorated following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.