Iran Demands $12 Billion in Frozen Assets as Precondition for US Talks
मुख्य बातें
- •Iran demands $12 billion in frozen assets as precondition for US talks
- •Tehran wants immediate release of assets, while Washington seeks to link it to a final nuclear agreement
- •The release of frozen assets is a key demand for Iran in the negotiations
- •The US has previously agreed to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets, but this was only a partial release
- •The situation remains delicate, with a possibility that the agreement could be canceled
Iran has set a precondition for the United States to move forward with negotiations, demanding the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar. This development comes as a key hurdle in the diplomatic talks between the two countries. According to sources cited by Iran International, the $12 billion is the first tranche required to begin the diplomatic roadmap and does not represent the full amount Iran is seeking. Tehran's broader negotiating position is that all of its frozen assets worldwide must eventually be unfrozen and fully released as part of any comprehensive agreement.
The standoff between Iran and the US over the release of frozen assets has been ongoing for some time. Earlier on Sunday, IRGC-linked Tasnim News reported that differences between the two countries over one or two clauses of a possible memorandum of understanding remained unresolved. Tasnim stated that Iran has insisted that any initial memorandum of understanding with the US should include the release of at least part of its frozen assets in the first step. The released funds must be accessible to Iran, according to Tasnim. Washington, however, has sought to link the release of the assets to a possible final nuclear agreement. Iran wants part of the funds released at the start of any MoU and a mechanism established for releasing the remaining assets during negotiations.
