“In
order to achieve the rights of Iranian nationals all over the world as well as
Iranians residing in the US and within the framework of an independent process,
five Iranian citizens who were illegally prosecuted by the US judicial system
due to their normal business activities were released and returned to their
families,” the ministry said in the statement.
“Prior to that, the Iranian assets in South Korea - which had
been frozen due to the US pressures, making it impossible to use them for years
- were unlocked thanks to diligent pursuit of the issue by the Foreign Ministry
and Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Through a financial and
banking process that lasted several weeks, the assets were transferred to the
accounts of Iranian banks in Qatar,” the statement added.
It
further continued, “These assets are under the control of the Central Bank of
the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be used at the discretion of relevant
Iranian authorities and based on the country’s needs and priorities.”
“Undoubtedly, the policies and actions of different
administrations in the US in preventing Iran’s free and legitimate access to
its financial resources in other countries are illegal and inhumane,” read the
statement.
“Nevertheless, the illegal move of the US to abuse the
international banking system and put pressure on other countries to limit
Iran’s access to its assets does not in any way mean that the governments where
these assets are kept have no responsibility in this regard, and those
governments must be held to account for their unjustified move to comply with
the illegal demands of the US government, the financial losses inflicted on
Iran as a result of the long-term freezing of Iranian assets and its humanitarian
consequences, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic,” it noted.
The
ministry also stressed, “The Iranian people will never forget that. Even during
the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic the US regime, while ignoring the health
emergency and humanitarian issues as well as repeated requests by the UN
secretary general and human rights officials, denied Iran access to its
financial resources in South Korea.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran hereby thanks the government
of Qatar for playing an effective role in transferring the assets of Iran and
exchanging the prisoners. We also appreciate the valuable efforts of the
Sultanate of Oman to advance this process and also the Swiss government’s
cooperation and assistance in facilitating all this,” the Foreign Ministry
concluded.
Five Iranians who had spent years in US jails were released
on Monday in a prisoner swap between Tehran and Washington mediated by Qatar.
“After a successful team effort, five innocent Iranian
compatriots in American prisons will be free today and two of them will enter
Tehran via Doha,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Secretary General of Iran’s High Council
for Human Rights, wrote on his X account on Monday.
“The High Council for Human Rights, alongside the government
and the judiciary, will remain determined to uphold the rights of Iranians
abroad,” he added.
Earlier
Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stated that two of
the inmates will be returned to Iran, one will join his family in a third
country, and two will remain in the United States.
The process of implementing an agreement with the US on the
release of Iran’s assets as well as a prisoner swap has progressed at a
favorable pace, said the spokesman.
Back in August, the United States and Iran agreed to
liberate five American prisoners in exchange for the release of a number of
Iranians held in the US and access to around $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues
in South Korea.
It is worth noting that the US is to blame for all
moratoriums made in such talks because it had illogically and futilely resisted
all legitimate demands by Iran. The American officials thought they had the
upper hand in the talks and gave the cold shoulder to any proposals.
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