Will US unfreeze Iranian assets held in Qatar? What White House said

The US has agreed to unfreeze Iranian financial assets held in Qatar and other countries, signalling potential progress in ongoing diplomatic efforts, news agency Reuters reported citing sources. However, a US official has denied the claim, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the development. The development assumes a heightened degree of significance as it comes against the backdrop of the US-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan.

According to the Reuters report, a senior Iranian source said Washington had agreed to release frozen funds, describing the move as a sign of “seriousness” in negotiations taking place in Islamabad.

The source added that the step was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, a critical global oil transit route that remains central to discussions.

A second Iranian source indicated that the US had agreed to release approximately USD 6 billion held in Qatari accounts. The funds, originally frozen in 2018 following the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran, have been a longstanding point of contention between the two countries.

Despite these claims, there has been no official confirmation from Washington.

In fact, a US official has explicitly denied the report that the US has agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has also not issued any immediate response.

The reported funds stem from Iranian oil revenues that were held in South Korean banks before being transferred to Qatar in 2023 as part of a US-Iran prisoner swap mediated by Doha.

That agreement saw the release of five US citizens detained in Iran in exchange for the unfreezing of the funds and the release of five Iranians held in the US.

At the time, US officials stressed that the money would be restricted strictly to humanitarian purposes, including food, medicine, and agricultural goods, under Treasury oversight.

However, the funds were frozen again following the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas, an Iran-backed group, with US officials stating that Iran would not have access to the money for the foreseeable future.

The conflicting accounts emerge at a sensitive moment in regional diplomacy.

US President JD Vance has arrived in Islamabad to hold ceasefire talks with Iranian officials, aiming to ease tensions and find a pathway to de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.

However, clouds of uncertainty shroud the rendezvous in Pakistan, with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi saying that Iran is entering negotiations with “complete distrust,” citing repeated US breaches and “betrayals of diplomacy,” during a phone call with his German counterpart, underscoring Tehran’s deep scepticism toward Washington.

Concretising Iran’s standpoint, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei earlier said that he believed Tehran had been systematically deceived, bombed, and betrayed – not once, but twice – while sitting at the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, if confirmed, the unfreezing of assets could represent a significant confidence-building measure between Washington and Tehran.

However, the US denial suggests that negotiations remain fluid, with key details yet to be finalised or publicly acknowledged.

The situation continues to evolve, with diplomatic efforts intensifying amid broader geopolitical and economic stakes tied to stability in the region.

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