Iran

Iran to pursue unfreezing of assets

337955_Valiollah-Seif

A senior Iranian banking official says the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) plans to form a task force to pursue the unfreezing of the Islamic Republic’s assets blocked abroad.

Head of the CBI Valiollah Seif said on Monday that Iran’s blocked assets cannot be released swiftly, adding that the Central Bank intends to establish a task force over the course of next week to pursue the issue.

Seif made the remarks when asked whether any of Iran’s frozen assets have been released following the nuclear deal between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – plus Germany.

The interim deal, sealed between Tehran and the six powers in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24, is aimed at laying the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program.

In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the sextet agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said on November 30 that Iran will have access to nearly USD 15 billion “with the implementation of the agreement over the next six months.”

According to the interim agreement, no new nuclear-related sanctions should be imposed against Iran over the course of the next six months.

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