Iranians Insist They Will Have Full Control Over Any Released Funds

Mohammad Marandi, a regime insider in Iran, says that Tehran will have full access to its funds when they are released from South Korea following a hostage deal.

It was confirmed on Thursday that five American hostages in Iran were released from prison and put under house arrest, pending the release of $6 billion of Iranian funds held in South Korea due to US sanctions.

Marandi, who was part of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team in Vienna in 2021-2022 tweeted that “Iran will have full and direct access to its released assets, there will be no Qatari companies involved, Iranian banks will have full control, and they can purchase goods and services without any limitation or restriction.”

United States officials have insisted that any frozen funds released from Iraq or South Korea can only be disbursed by US supervision for humanitarian purchases by Iran. The New York Times quoted sources on Thursday that Qatar’s Central Bank might become the repository of Iran’s funds, but the scheme for supervising its expenditure remains unclear.

Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday that “The Islamic Republic will decide how to use the released funds, and these funds will be appropriated for the various needs of the country by the appropriate authorities.”

Critics say that the funds would boost the Iranian regime's finances, whether released in cash or with restrictions. If Iran can import food with the funds, it will use its own oil income for its military or malign activities.

Chief of Iran’s central bank visited Qatar in June, in what was interpreted at the time as a trip to begin coordination regarding any possible funds being released from Iraq or South Korea.