A senior Iranian official stated that the United States has agreed to unfreeze Iranian funds trapped in Qatar and other foreign banks, describing the move as a sign of "seriousness" about reaching a deal during the negotiations in Islamabad.

According to the source, the unfreezing of funds is "directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", which is expected to be a key topic of the negotiations. Another Iranian official claims that the US agreed to release 6 billion dollars in frozen Iranian funds held by Qatar.

The White House dismissed these reports. An American official rejected the claims that Washington agreed to unfreeze Iranian funds, emphasizing that Iran will not have access to the funds in the near future.

The six billion dollars were originally frozen in 2018 and were supposed to be returned in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange deal, but the Biden administration refroze them after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The funds originate from Iranian oil sales to South Korea and were blocked in South Korean banks after President Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018. In September 2023, during a prisoner exchange brokered by Doha, the money was transferred to Qatari bank accounts.

American officials claim the funds are restricted to humanitarian use, distributed to approved suppliers of food, medicine, and medical equipment under the oversight of the US Treasury Department. The US-Iran negotiations began today in Islamabad.