Iran: "Among South Korea's frozen assets of $7 billion, $1 billion decreased... Won value declines"

Agreement Reached on Unfreezing US-Iran Funds

The governor of the Central Bank of Iran revealed that the frozen funds in South Korea, originally about $7 billion (approximately 9.324 trillion KRW), have decreased by nearly $1 billion due to the depreciation of the Korean won.

According to Iran's state news agency on the 13th, Mohammad Reza Farzin, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, stated that approximately $7 billion of Iranian funds had been frozen in South Korean banks for several years in a 'zero-interest' form. He explained that the decrease was due to the decline in the won's value against the dollar.

He also said that all Iranian funds frozen in South Korea have now been released and transferred to a third country to be converted from won to euros. Governor Farzin added that the entire amount converted to euros will soon be transferred to accounts of six Iranian banks in Qatar and will be used to purchase 'non-sanctioned goods.'

This statement follows John Kirby, White House National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications, announcing on the 11th that the United States and Iran have agreed to release Iranian frozen funds in South Korea. Previously, the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to exchange five detainees each from their countries and agreed to release Iranian frozen funds held in South Korea, Iraq, and Europe. The funds are only permitted to be used for purchasing medical equipment that cannot be militarily repurposed.

The Iranian funds frozen in South Korea are payments for Iranian crude oil imports that had been frozen in domestic banks since May 2019 due to sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Iran.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.