The United States and Qatar have jointly agreed to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets following the recent attack on Israel by the Hamas terror group.
These funds were initially transferred to Iranian accounts in Qatar as part of a contentious US-Iran prisoner exchange deal concluded last month, resulting in the release of five US detainees by the Tehran regime.
The US government has suspended Iran’s access to these funds as a punitive measure due to Iran’s extensive historical support for Hamas, both politically and militarily.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo announced this decision during a briefing to Democratic members of Congress, as reported by the Washington Post.
This move by the United States comes shortly after President Joe Biden issued a public warning to Iran in response to the Hamas attack on Israel, stating, “We’ve made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful.”
Biden made this statement during a meeting with Jewish leaders at the White House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Tel Aviv during his visit to Israel, defended the original prisoner swap arrangement that led to the transfer of Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar.
Blinken emphasized that none of these funds have been accessed or spent by Iran, and the US maintains strict oversight with the authority to freeze them.
He also expressed frustration with the criticisms surrounding the original prisoner exchange deal, saying, “It’s always worth repeating the facts because unfortunately the facts get lost along the way.”
John Kirby, the national security spokesman at the White House, reiterated that none of the funds had been accessed and were still held in a Qatari bank. When asked about Iran’s future access to the funds, Kirby declined to speculate but assured that they are closely monitoring the situation.
This action by President Biden represents the first time he has directly confronted Iran since the Hamas attack, despite Iran’s historical support for the group. It’s worth noting that earlier this year, Biden unfroze $6 billion of Iranian funds in exchange for the release of five American hostages.
The White House and the Treasury Department did not provide immediate comments regarding this decision. The terms of the deal dictate that Iran can only use the funds for “humanitarian” purposes, and there are bipartisan calls from both Republicans and Democrats to refreeze the assets.
