[Subtitled News] "Negotiating with Money Korea Provided?"... Tense Standoff Over "Desperation" and "Not a Single Cent"

The path has opened for Iran to regain access to $6 billion—approximately 9.2 trillion won—in proceeds from crude oil sold to South Korea.

Currently, these funds are not frozen in South Korea, but in Qatar.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States and Qatar are discussing a plan to allow these frozen funds to be used for the purchase of humanitarian goods.

These funds were originally Iranian assets frozen at Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) due to U.S. sanctions.

In 2018, during the first Trump administration, the funds were frozen in South Korea after the U.S. reinstated sanctions on Iran. They were eventually transferred to Qatar in 2023 following negotiations for the release of American hostages.

The funds were routed through Qatar to allow the U.S. to monitor and control Iran's spending.

However, the funds were frozen again in October of that year, immediately following Hamas's surprise attack on Israel.

According to the plan, the Central Bank of Iran would be able to use this money to purchase food and medicine.

This money is critical for Iran.

The country has run out of foreign currency due to hyperinflation and the collapse of its currency's value.

These funds serve as the first litmus test for whether the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran will hold.

The U.S. has promised to fully unfreeze Iran's assets in accordance with the agreement.

Iran has $100 billion in assets frozen worldwide, and the amount Iran is immediately demanding to be released is $24 billion.

However, the U.S. government maintains that it will release the funds based on Iran's behavior.

[Donald Trump / President of the United States: I signed the agreement last night, and the deadline is 60 days. Iran must conclude the negotiations. If they don't, we will do things they won't like. But I don't think it will come to that.]

After Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, claimed that "the U.S. was desperate for a ceasefire," President Trump retorted on social media, stating, "We will see it through to the end of the 60 days, but Iran is finished; they won't get a single cent," continuing the tense standoff.

The U.S. has stated that it will release more assets if Iran demonstrates "good behavior," such as handing over enriched uranium.

How the Iranian oil proceeds, which were once frozen in South Korea, are released has become a benchmark for gauging the direction of this ceasefire.

Reported by Kim, Soo Hyung | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.