Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi called upon Japan on Tuesday to demonstrate its autonomy from Washington by unfreezing Tehran’s blocked assets amidst the backdrop of US sanctions.
Raisi clarified that the exclusively withheld Iranian funds were currently held in South Korea.
“Our counsel to the Japanese government is to uphold its sovereignty, free from the pressures exerted by the Americans. The assets or the value of goods belonging to the Islamic Republic, if securely stored, should not face any impediments,” he stated.
An accord has been struck between Tehran and Washington, stipulating that $6 billion of Iranian assets, frozen in South Korea, will be released in exchange for the liberation of five detained US citizens in Iran.
On August 10, Iran permitted four detained US citizens to transition from imprisonment at Tehran’s Evin prison to house arrest, with one already under home confinement.
These individuals are anticipated to depart from Iran upon the successful transfer of the funds to accounts in Qatar.
