TEHRAN, Iran, June 21 (ANI) —
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds currently held in Qatar will be returned to Iran as part of a preliminary agreement with the United States aimed at ending the conflict, according to the Tasnim News Agency.
The statement coincided with the arrival of diplomatic delegations at the Swiss mountain resort of Bürgenstock for high-stakes negotiations.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the arrivals on social media platform X, stating, “The U.S. delegation, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the Iranian delegation, led by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the mediators, Pakistan and Qatar, have arrived at the Bürgenstock. Talks between the parties are set to begin today.”
The diplomatic initiative is being conducted under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), finalized on June 17 by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pakistan, acting as a guarantor of the agreement, and Qatar are participating in the talks as mediators.
Expressing confidence in the framework, Pezeshkian said the agreement strongly favors Tehran.
“All provisions of the memorandum of understanding are in our favor, and the achievements of these talks and negotiations will become evident,” Tasnim quoted Pezeshkian as saying.
Commenting on what he described as a shift in Washington’s position, Pezeshkian said Trump, “who had forbidden us from doing many things in his recent speech, declared all of them as the rights of the people and the nation.”
Reiterating the financial terms of the agreement, he added, “Our $6 billion in Qatar will be returned.”
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Iran could be permitted to access $6 billion in frozen assets held in Qatar under a proposed framework intended to end hostilities between Tehran and Washington, citing individuals familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the funds could only be used to purchase humanitarian goods and other items not subject to sanctions, primarily sourced from the United States.
The assets originated from Iranian oil exports and were previously held in South Korean financial institutions before being transferred to restricted accounts in Qatar in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange agreement. Access to the funds was later suspended following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent escalation of regional tensions.
Citing sources familiar with the negotiations, the report said the proposed mechanism would allow Iran to access the funds in phases over a 60-day ceasefire period linked to ongoing talks between the two countries.
Under the framework, the gradual release of the assets would reportedly depend on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and continued progress toward a broader treaty.
An American official familiar with the negotiations told the Wall Street Journal that portions of Iran’s frozen assets could be released if Tehran demonstrates what Washington considers “appropriate behavior,” including cooperation regarding its stockpiles of enriched uranium.
Looking ahead to the broader diplomatic agenda, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the United States had committed to addressing both frozen Iranian assets and compensation for damages caused by the recent conflict.
“The release of the frozen Iranian assets, as well as reparations for damages, are two essential points. The American side has committed to taking measures in both areas,” Baqaei told reporters during a weekly press briefing.
Pezeshkian also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would be “the first to be unhappy with the negotiations” currently taking place in Switzerland.
Addressing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, Pezeshkian said Washington’s primary focus remains ensuring that Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons.
“America’s only point is that we not have an atomic bomb. This is something the martyred leader also repeatedly said, ‘we do not want an atomic bomb,'” Pezeshkian said, referring to the religious edict issued by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranian president added that Tehran had formalized its commitment following requests from Washington.
“America said, ‘Write this down and sign,’ and we signed,” he said.
The technical-level talks were originally scheduled to begin on Friday but were delayed due to recent exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon, which threatened to disrupt the diplomatic process.
The report comes amid growing expectations regarding the scale of financial relief that could accompany a future U.S.-Iran agreement. Iranian state media outlets aligned with the government have claimed that Tehran expects to gain access to as much as $12 billion in frozen assets during the transitional 60-day period.
The potential release of the funds has become a politically sensitive issue in the United States. President Trump has supported the possibility of easing restrictions on Iranian assets, while maintaining that any financial relief would remain strictly tied to Tehran’s compliance with the terms of a broader agreement.
The negotiations have placed regional mediators at the center of the current U.S.-Iran diplomatic effort, with the immediate focus on implementing the MoU, reducing regional tensions, and addressing the situation surrounding the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and the wider conflict in West Asia. (ANI)
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