A large Palestinian flag hangs on a building in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on the 10th (local time). /Reuters
The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 12th (local time) that the United States and Qatar agreed to prevent Iran from using $6 billion (about 8 trillion won) in Iranian funds deposited in Qatari banks. This is the price of crude oil that was frozen in Korea due to U.S. sanctions against Iran. The WP reported that Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, announced the de facto ‘refreeze’ policy to House Democrats on this day, saying, “(These funds) will not go anywhere for the time being.”
Last August, the United States lifted the freeze on these funds and authorized them to be transferred to a Qatari bank in exchange for the repatriation of five American detainees from Iran. However, rather than transferring the funds directly to Iran, the money was deposited in a Qatari bank with the condition that it could only be used as purchase money when Iran imports food and medicine.
However, the situation changed when the Palestinian armed group Hamas announced on the 7th that it had received support from Iran with weapons and training after a surprise attack on Israel. Former President Donald Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, criticized the Biden administration, saying, “The United States paid $6 billion to Iran in exchange for the release of (detainees).” Although these funds are from South Korea’s crude oil imports, Trump attacked the Biden administration as if it had given $6 billion from the U.S. budget, saying, “American taxpayers’ money was used to finance this attack.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also criticized “Not one cent of these funds (deposited in Qatari banks) has been used,” the White House said. Although it was countered by saying, “Its use is limited to purchasing food and medicine for Iranians,” it was not enough to overturn negative public opinion domestically.
Several senators from both Democratic and Republican parties, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, urged the Biden administration to tear up the agreement with Iran. The Biden administration has been considering this issue, saying, “Although Iran has provided weapons to Hamas, there is no concrete evidence that Iran participated in this attack.”
Regarding this issue, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations told WP, “Both the senators in question and the U.S. government are well aware that the agreement cannot be annulled. “The funds rightfully belong to the Iranian people and are earmarked for the Iranian government to use to obtain all essential and non-sanctioned items for the Iranian people.”
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2023-10-12 16:57:00
