▲ Strait of Hormuz
As the signing ceremony for a peace agreement between the United States and Iran approaches, attention is turning to the location and scale of Iran's frozen assets held overseas.
It is reported that Iran intends to make the release of these frozen assets a key demand to the U.S. as it enters 60 days of intensive negotiations to fully end the war following the signing ceremony scheduled for June 19.
While some of these assets have been frozen for decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the majority consist of proceeds from crude oil exports that were blocked more recently.
During his first term in 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) established during the Obama administration and reinstated sanctions against Iran.
As a result, countries including China, India, South Korea, and Japan were unable to pay for Iranian crude oil imports, leaving massive amounts of funds trapped in overseas banks.
Estimates regarding the exact scale of Iran's frozen assets abroad vary.
While Iranian authorities claim the amount is at least 100 billion dollars (approximately 151 trillion won), some analysts suggest the figure may be significantly lower.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), China, which was the largest importer of Iranian crude oil, is believed to hold the largest portion of these frozen funds.
Experts estimate that the amount of frozen Iranian assets in China ranges from 20 billion to 50 billion dollars (approximately 30 trillion to 75 trillion won).
Significant amounts are also reportedly frozen in Iraq (15 billion dollars, 22.5 trillion won), South Korea and India (7 billion dollars each, 10.5 trillion won), Qatar (6 billion dollars, 9 trillion won), Japan (3 billion dollars, 4.5 trillion won), and the United States and Luxembourg (2 billion dollars each, 3 trillion won).
The reason the U.S. was able to block these countries from paying for Iranian oil is that most international crude oil transactions are settled in U.S. dollars.
However, the WSJ pointed out that even after the current war broke out, China has been secretly importing Iranian crude oil through illicit means.
It is understood that with official financial channels blocked, Iran has been indirectly utilizing some of its frozen funds in China by bartering for Chinese machinery and automotive parts.
Iran is prioritizing a demand for the phased release of 24 billion dollars (approximately 36 trillion won) of its frozen assets.
Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a London-based research organization, predicted that if a portion of the frozen funds is released, the Iranian leadership could use them to boost the value of the national currency and lower inflation.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.