US signals Iran won’t access its US$6 billion in Qatar any time soon
- Iran said the US ‘cannot renege’ on deal over the money, which was transferred to Qatar
- Iranian funds were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap with the United States last month
The United States said that Iran would not gain access any time soon to US$6 billion in Iranian funds parked in a Qatar bank last month as part of a prisoner exchange and that Washington retained the right to completely freeze the account.
The question of Iranian access to the funds has been in the spotlight since Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people and taking scores of hostages back to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
“Iran will not be able to access the funds for the foreseeable future,” a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday, said that Iran had neither accessed nor spent any of the US$6 billion, adding: “We have strict oversight of the funds and we retain the right to freeze them”.
Blinken said the US Treasury oversees any disbursement to ensure it is used only for humanitarian purposes.
