The US government is weighing whether to take approximately $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets and hand them to Gulf state allies as compensation for damages from Iranian military actions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directed an assessment on June 6 to evaluate the damage inflicted on Gulf partners and explore legal pathways to repurpose the frozen funds. The administration has signaled it intends to apply “all available authorities” to make the assets accessible to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
What’s actually in the $24 billion pot
The frozen assets consist of bank funds and seized ships, scattered across institutions in South Korea, Qatar, China, India, Japan, and Luxembourg. The US itself directly controls around $2 billion of the total. The rest is held by other nations under the umbrella of international sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister rejected the proposal outright, asserting that the assets are not for Washington to utilize as war spoils or payment to allies.
