FM: Iran never ...
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Negotiations to revive the agreement started in April 2021. The talks have, however, stalled amid Washington’s refusal to offer guarantees that it would not ditch the deal again.
Iran’s frozen assets
Regarding a recent agreement reached between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea, Amir-Abdollahian said the released funds are being transferred to a European bank, and then they will be sent to a bank in one of the countries in the Middle East region.
He noted that the funds would be used for purchases of non-sanctioned goods – a move that the Iranian top diplomat described as hostile.
Iran and the US have reached a prisoner swap deal that would see the release of prisoners from both sides and includes the release of $6 billion worth of Iran’s assets that have been frozen in South Korea for years.
Arash gas field
During the Monday press conference, the Iranian foreign minister also pointed to the long-running dispute over the Arash or Al-Dorra gas field between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, saying that Iran and Kuwait have held two rounds of negotiations on the issue.
It is definitely important to determine the boundaries through technical negotiations, he added.
Amir-Abdollahian noted that the three countries must pursue this issue through diplomacy.
The territorial dispute over the strategically important maritime gas field, which dates to the 1960s, has escalated again in recent weeks, with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia repeating their claims.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Saad al-Barrak recently reiterated the country’s new position over the dispute and called on Iran to validate its claim to the field by demarcating its maritime borders first.