Iranian Central Bank Governor: Significant progress has been made in releasing Iran’s assets Economy News

Tasnim News Agency, citing the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdel Nasser Hemmati, reported that notable progress had been made in releasing Iran’s assets during the talks held in Switzerland.

The frozen Iranian funds represented a complex pressure card in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The governor said that the discussions in the Swiss negotiations between the Iranian and American delegations, in the presence of Qatari and Pakistani mediators, were intense and difficult, but the results went in accordance with the goals set by the Iranian delegation.

The governor revealed that it was decided that the Office of Foreign Assets Control would issue an exemption from the sanctions imposed on the sale of Iranian oil.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi indicated that his country had obtained exemptions for oil and petrochemical exports, the release of some frozen assets, and the launch of a plan for reconstruction and development in Iran.

Yesterday, Sunday, a member of the Iranian negotiating team said that a draft related to exemptions from the sanctions imposed on Iranian oil exports had been completed, indicating that these exemptions would be issued soon, in a step that may pave the way for easing restrictions imposed on the Iranian energy sector.

In a related context, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company announced on state television that more than 25 million barrels of the country’s oil have been able to cross what he described as the “siege line” since last Monday.

Iranian sources said, “Iran wants to release between $6 billion and $12 billion of its frozen funds and present them to Tehran, while Washington wants to release the funds in stages for humanitarian goods and has refused to return the funds directly to Iran.”

The Wall Street Journal previously quoted former US officials and experts as saying that the value of Iranian assets frozen abroad is estimated at about $100 billion.

The roots of the freeze on Iranian assets go back to 1979 following the American hostage crisis in Tehran, when the United States began imposing restrictions on Iranian funds. The sanctions were later expanded against the backdrop of the Iranian nuclear program and regional disputes.