Iran wants its money back. Roughly $12 billion in frozen assets sitting in Qatari institutions has become the central bargaining chip in a new round of US-Iran negotiations, with Doha playing the role of diplomatic middleman.
An Iranian delegation that includes Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Qatar on May 25 to push the talks forward. Tehran’s position is straightforward: give us access to the funds first, then we’ll sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Washington, predictably, sees the sequencing differently.
The money trail from oil sales to frozen accounts
The frozen assets trace back to Iranian oil revenues that were locked down after the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018. When Washington walked away from the agreement, it reimposed sanctions that effectively trapped billions in Iranian funds across various jurisdictions.
About $6 billion of those funds were moved to Qatari institutions as part of a September 2023 prisoner swap deal between the two countries. The money could only be used for humanitarian purposes under US oversight.
