Iranian President “Lifting Foreign Assets Freeze Is A Sign Of Victory In Economic Warfare”

Iranian President Hassan Rohany referred to an agreement to lift the asset freeze with South Korea and others, calling it “a sign of victory in the economic war.”

According to Ban Gwan-yeong of Iran, the Tasnim news agency, President Rohany attended a meeting of the Economic Cooperation Headquarters on the 23rd (local time) and received a report from the President of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, on the release of frozen foreign assets.

President Hemmati reported on the plan to use frozen assets agreed with Korea, Japan, Iraq and Oman, and President Rohani said: “There are signs that the economic war started by the enemy (US) has failed.”

President Rohani stressed that “the increased resistance of the Iranian people to the radical economic war started by the enemy is having an effect”, and “the futility of Iranian sanctions is becoming clear.”

“One of the results is the release of illegal and unfairly frozen Iranian assets,” he added. “The release of the asset freeze will give new impetus to the Iranian economy.”

Earlier, President Hemmati said that after meeting with Iranian ambassador Yoo Jeong-hyun at the Korean embassy in Tehran the day before, an agreement was reached with South Korea on the use of frozen assets in Korea.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Ravieri also told a press conference on the day that “Korea agreed to release the frozen assets” and “The first step is expected to return the assets of the Iranian central bank by $ 1 billion.”

In response, the Korean Foreign Ministry said that Iran accepted South Korea’s proposal regarding the use of the funds in Iranian won, which were frozen that day.

However, even if South Korea and Iran have agreed to a basic deal, US approval is essential to lift the frozen funds.

The Foreign Ministry said there is no specific amount, such as $ 1 billion, mentioned by a Ravieri spokesperson, and it continues to discuss issues related to the United States.

Iranian funds frozen in Korea are estimated at $ 7 billion (about 7.7 trillion won).

Iran opened Korean won accounts with IBK Industrial Bank and Woori Bank under the name of the Central Bank of Iran in 2010, and received payments for crude oil exports through these accounts.

However, the US government placed Iran’s central bank on a sanctions list in 2018, halting transactions through the account, and the Iranian government has demanded that the frozen funds be withdrawn.

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