Pezeshkian: $6 bln Iranian Funds in Qatar Set for Release

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Agencies

Iranian President Pezeshkian confirms $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar will be released, and that Trump acknowledged Iran's rights in his latest speech.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that every provision of the memorandum of understanding with Washington serves Tehran's interests, adding that the outcomes of the negotiations "will become clear" in time.

Speaking at a Monetary and Banking Policy Conference, Pezeshkian confirmed that $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar will be released. He added that US President Donald Trump, who had previously sought to deny Iran its rights, acknowledged those rights in his most recent speech.

Washington's only condition, Pezeshkian explained, is that Iran does not possess an atomic bomb, noting that Tehran never sought a nuclear weapon, "as the martyred Leader, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, repeatedly stressed."

He also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first to voice dissatisfaction with the negotiations.

Talks ongoing in Geneva

Pezeshkian's remarks coincided with a fresh round of diplomatic meetings in Geneva, including bilateral and trilateral formats at the Bürgenstock resort, ahead of the first official session of US-Iran negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told IRNA that Tehran would hold morning bilateral meetings with the Pakistani and Qatari delegations as mediators, followed by four-party talks in the afternoon between the Iranian and US delegations alongside Qatari and Pakistani representatives.

Iranian state television reported that the talks aim to set the mechanism for the main session with the US side, with Tehran insisting on its core demand, namely ending the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where it stresses this provision remains unfulfilled.

Frozen assets of central importance

The $6 billion figure traces to a mechanism the US and Qatar had reportedly been developing to give Iran access to frozen funds for "humanitarian" purchases such as food and medicine, under Qatari oversight, as part of measures linked to the ceasefire agreement.

It marks only an initial step, as the same sources said Tehran is seeking access to at least $24 billion in blocked funds, out of an estimated $100 billion in Iranian assets frozen worldwide.

The asset issue gained momentum after Trump, speaking in Evian on June 17, said Washington would eventually have to return Iran's frozen funds, arguing that withholding them indefinitely would erode global confidence in the dollar.

"It's not our money, it's their money," Trump said. Trump also claimed the US holds enough leverage to enforce the Lebanon ceasefire, calling it a "much smaller conflict," even as Lebanon continues to face Israeli airstrikes, drone attacks, and incursions in violation of the truce.