Iranian Media: Iran Insists on Immediate Access to Half of Frozen Funds Upon Agreement Announcement

According to Odaily, Iran's Tasnim News Agency, citing sources close to the negotiating team, reported that Iran is negotiating with the United States based on a proposed 14-point Memorandum of Understanding, demanding the unfreezing of its $24 billion in frozen assets. Iran insists that half of these funds must be accessible immediately upon the announcement of the agreement, with the remaining amount to be transferred within 60 days. The source stated that the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, visited Qatar to reach a consensus on how Iran can obtain the first tranche of $12 billion and eliminate obstacles to the transfer, while also avoiding issues encountered in previous agreements concerning Iranian funds in South Korea and Qatar. The source told Tasnim that the talks in Doha were "generally good" and helped advance broader negotiations with the U.S., but also cautioned that Iran still views the U.S. as an "untrustworthy party." (Jin Shi)