SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States “must” first release $10 billion of Tehran’s frozen funds as a sign of good will to resume nuclear talks, Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the U.S. used intermediaries at the United Nations last month to attempt to make contact, according to Reuters.
“The Americans tried to contact us through different channels [at the U.N. General Assembly] in New York, and I told the mediators if America’s intentions are serious then a serious indication was needed … by releasing at least $10 billion of blocked money,” the minister told state television.
“They are not willing to free $10 billion belonging to the Iranian nation so that we can say that the Americans once in the past several decades considered the interests of the Iranian nation,” he said.
Iran has been unable to obtain tens of billions of dollars of its assets in foreign banks, mainly from exports of oil and gas, due to U.S. sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.
Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as Tehran’s nuclear programme is advancing well beyond the limits set by the deal.
The Iranian foreign minister reiterated that Iran would “soon” return to the stalled nuclear talks in Vienna, declining to give a date, Reuters reported.
