The United States has confirmed it will place restrictions on what Iranian actors can do with billions of dollars of funds that would be unfrozen under an emerging agreement that has led to five Americans being released from prison to house arrest in Tehran.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday the country would have “full visibility” into where any released Iranian funds get sent and how they are used.
“Essentially, the funds can only be accessed for food, medicine, medical equipment that would not have a dual military use,” Mr. Kirby told reporters. “And there will be a rigorous process of due diligence and standards applied with input from the U.S. Treasury Department.”
He stressed that talks are still underway and “the deal is not done.”
An estimated $6 billion in Iranian assets are currently held in South Korea. Mr. Kirby said there would be “no impediment” to the potential transfer of the restricted account from South Korea to Qatar, where Tehran would then be able to access the funds.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Thursday that the deal does not mean that Iran will be getting any sanctions relief “in any event, in any respect.”
He added that the Biden administration has been in contact with the families of the five Americans freed from prison to house arrest. “My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare, and the nightmare that their families have experienced,” he said.
Starting what could be a multifaceted process lasting weeks, on Thursday, Tehran permitted four U.S. detainees to transition from Tehran’s Evin prison to house arrest. Another U.S. citizen had previously been placed under home confinement.
According to Iran’s mission to the United Nations, the agreement also entails the United States releasing certain Iranians from its prisons.
Some Republicans argue that the deal appears as if the Biden administration is essentially providing a ransom for the U.S. citizens. They have also said that by allowing Tehran to allocate the money for humanitarian causes, it could inadvertently enable the country to divert resources towards its nuclear initiatives or support militias in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Tehran has been accumulating near weapons-grade enriched uranium. Highly enriched uranium and plutonium are two key ingredients used to build nuclear weapons.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
