TEHRAN, Oct 4 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran is expected to receive its frozen assets from the Republic of Korea (ROK), via the central bank of a third regional country, the Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported yesterday.
With the continuation of the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States, relevant parties agreed upon transferring the Iranian assets frozen in ROK via the designated central bank, it reported, without revealing the name of the third country.
The only obstacle now was the lack of a bank account, said Nour News.
Meanwhile, senior Iranian officials, including Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, and Iran’s Central Bank Governor, Ali Salehabadi, both voiced hope for the asset transfer to be settled soon.
Speaking at a weekly press conference, Kanaani said, Tehran has achieved some progress with regard to the release of its frozen assets in ROK, and efforts to this end are continuing.
Iranian and ROK foreign ministers held “very good” negotiations on this matter, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, he added.
Salehabadi told a ceremony that, practical progress has been made with regard to the release of seven billion U.S. dollars in Iranian frozen assets currently held in ROK.
Unofficial estimates suggest that Iran has funds worth over seven billion dollars in two ROK banks it cannot access, because banks and authorities in the country refuse to process them, fearing U.S. penalties.
ROK was the third largest customer of Iran’s crude oil and top buyer of Iran’s condensate, a very light form of crude, prior to Washington’s pullout of a 2015 nuclear deal, between Iran and world powers and reimposition of its unilateral sanctions on Iran.
