A South Korean newspaper report says funds belonging to Iran and frozen in two bank accounts in the country have been used to pay back debts to dozens of companies who had exported goods and services to Iran before the country came under US sanctions in 2018.
The US State Department has reportedly informed Congress of its decision to waive sanctions on Iran’s oil trade so that Tehran can pay off its debts to Japanese and Korean exporters from its frozen funds, without being able to transfer the funds to the country.
Iran’s economy would unlikely be restored to a robust level if major U.S. sanctions on the country remain, recent researches and opinions indicated.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has estimated that Iran’s economy will continue to grow by a modest rate of 3.5% this year if the country and world powers succeed in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has managed to win a court order in Luxembourg to prevent the transfer of nearly $1.7 billion worth of assets from the European country to the United States.
The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Abdolnasser Hemmati, said Sunday that the United States should remove banking sanctions against the Islamic republic, state TV reported.
The Iranians have been observing Ramadan since Wednesday amid the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic and hardships brought about by the U.S.-imposed sanctions.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun will pay an official visit to Tehran to discuss bilateral issues, particularly the release of billions of dollars of Iranian funds frozen by Seoul as a result of US sanctions.
Iran has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to immediately consider Iran’s request for an emergency loan it needs to battle the economic impacts of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the United States should return unconditionally to the Iran nuclear deal as soon as possible, while lifting sanctions on Iran and third-party entities and individuals.