An informed source has indicated that approximately $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets should be released as part of ongoing negotiations, a figure that represents roughly a fifth of Iran’s total blocked resources worldwide.
What’s actually frozen and where
Iran’s total frozen assets globally are estimated between $100 billion and $120 billion, spread across a surprisingly wide network of countries. The $24 billion figure reportedly targeted for release is just one slice of a much larger financial picture.
Previous reporting from 2023 identified some of the major holding locations. Iraq holds over $10 billion in blocked Iranian assets, predominantly tied to energy transactions. South Korea has roughly $7 billion. Qatar holds approximately $12 billion, and China sits on about $20 billion in Iranian funds. Smaller amounts are scattered across India, Japan, Luxembourg, and other jurisdictions.
These aren’t mysterious slush funds. They’re largely oil revenues and foreign reserves that accumulated in overseas accounts before sanctions made it impossible for Iran to repatriate them.
