In a significant development, approximately six billion dollars worth of frozen Iranian funds have been successfully transferred through Qatar, potentially paving the way for a prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran. Sources close to the matter revealed this information on Monday.
According to one anonymous source based in Doha, “A Qatari plane is already in Iran to evacuate to Doha five American citizens and two of their relatives.” The source further disclosed that both Iranian and American authorities had been informed about the transfer of the entire six billion dollars from Swiss accounts to bank accounts in Qatar. These funds had previously been frozen in South Korea.
Iran has confirmed the successful transfer of these funds. The governor of Iran’s Central Bank stated, “We received an official letter from Qatar yesterday stating that the accounts of six Iranian banks had been activated.” Mohammadreza Farzin, the Central Bank governor, noted that the equivalent of 5,573,492,000 euros had been deposited in Iranian bank accounts with two Qatari banks.
This transfer has not been officially confirmed by the United States, which is expected to exchange five American citizens for five Iranians detained in the US. The agreement for this exchange was brokered by Qatar and had been announced on August 10.
Iranian diplomatic spokesman Nasser Kanani expressed hope that the exchange would occur on the same day as the funds’ payment confirmation. Kanani explained, “Five Iranian prisoners will be released, and in exchange, five American citizens imprisoned in Iran will be handed over to the American side at their request.”
This development indicates a potential easing of tensions between Iran and the United States but does not necessarily foreshadow an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue. Negotiations led by European countries to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal failed in 2022, and the future of the deal remains uncertain.
The prisoner exchange involves notable individuals, including businessman Siamak Namazi and Iranians accused of “diverting US sanctions” against Iran. While this exchange reflects progress in specific aspects of US-Iran relations, it does not guarantee a broader diplomatic resolution.
