The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement regarding the Iranian-American agreement on "prisoner exchange and the release of Iranian funds illegally frozen by the United States" that the process of releasing billions of dollars of Iranian funds, which the U.S. had illegally seized in South Korea for several years, has begun. The ministry noted that "necessary guarantees have been obtained for the U.S. to fulfill its commitments in this regard," pointing out that "the issue of releasing the Islamic Republic of Iran's frozen funds and removing the restrictions imposed on its financial resources, which have been illegally banned and confiscated or even made difficult to access due to foreign banks' fears of oppressive American sanctions, has always been on the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Additionally, it stated: "The manner in which these frozen funds will be used after their release will be at the disposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and relevant authorities will take charge of spending them in a way that they deem suitable to meet the country's various needs."
It also mentioned that "the case of innocent Iranian prisoners, who have been wrongfully detained and imprisoned in America over the past years on unfounded charges of circumventing harsh American sanctions, has been pursued seriously," and indicated that "a number of these unlawfully detained prisoners will soon be released by the United States."
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed hope today for a "smooth" resolution to the issue of frozen Iranian funds. The ministry stated in a release: "Our government is closely consulting with relevant countries such as the United States and Iran to resolve the frozen funds issue, and hopes to settle this matter amicably." The ministry added that it has no information related to media reports that Iran could release five American citizens held as part of a deal under which six billion dollars of Iranian funds would be unfrozen in South Korea.
