A regional analyst warned that a dispute over billions in potentially unfrozen Iranian assets could quickly test the durability of a fledgling interim agreement between the US and Iran.
Disagreement Over Frozen Funds
The disagreement is emerging as Washington and Tehran begin implementing the memorandum of understanding signed June 17, with negotiators holding the first round of talks at Bürgenstock, near Lucerne, Switzerland.
According to Iran International, President Masoud Pezeshkian had signaled Tehran’s expectations early Sunday, saying, ‘$6 billion of our funds in Qatar will be returned. Trump, who tried to deny Iran its rights, acknowledged them in his recent speech.’
President Donald Trump said, ‘We have taken their money, it isn’t our money, it is their money, and we froze it,’ and stressed that any access to the funds remains strictly conditional.
Competing Narratives
‘There are effectively two competing narratives about the frozen funds,’ Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital. ‘Releasing frozen assets is not simply an economic question. It is one of the central political tests of trust between Tehran and Washington and will likely become one of the first major implementation disputes in the weeks ahead,’ Vatanka added.
The agreement ties any release of funds to a step-by-step process based on compliance, rather than granting immediate, unrestricted access. Iran’s frozen assets are widely estimated at between $100 billion and $120 billion and held under sanctions and financial restrictions in countries including China, India, Iraq, and South Korea.
Vatanka said the central dispute extends beyond the size of the payout. ‘The real dispute is not simply about how much money Iran receives, but who ultimately controls how it is spent.’ ‘Iranian officials are emphasizing sovereignty over the funds, while the United States is trying to preserve leverage by attaching conditions to their use,’ he added.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
