Tuesday was the date set for the release of the fifth installment of Iran’s frozen assets as part of the extension of Tehran’s nuclear deal with the six world powers. There is yet to be any official confirmation on the release.
The installment worth $500 million is part of $2.8 billion in blocked oil revenues, of which $1.4 billion has been received so far by the Central Bank of Iran. The $2.8 billion was to be released in six installments in 3 week intervals starting from August first.
Over $100 billion of Iran’s assets are blocked as a result of western sanctions placed to curb Iran’s nuclear energy program. The US and its allies agreed to release $2.8 billion after the deal they had signed in November 2013 was extended in July 20 for four months. Iran had previously received $4.2 billion as part of the Geneva deal, known as Joint Plan of Action.
The UN Security Council, the US and the EU have placed severe economic sanctions since 2010 on Iran to halt its nuclear development. As previous efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute failed to reach an agreement, the new Iranian government started new rounds of talks, employing a new strategy.
The negotiations with the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – soon bore fruit leading to the JPOA, an unprecedented accord, under which Iran halted some aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for a limited easing of sanctions including the partial release of its frozen funds. Now all eyes are turned towards the P5+1 and Iran negotiations, whose deadline expires on November 24. Any outcome would greatly impact Iran’s economy.
