WSJ Maps Iran's Frozen Assets as U.S.-Iran Draft Deal Draws Attention

The Wall Street Journal published a country-by-country estimate on Wednesday of Iran’s frozen assets held under U.S. and Western sanctions, as those funds could be released. The reported totals are huge, including $20 billion to $50 billion in China and about $15 billion in Iraq. Iran also has an estimated $7 billion each in India and South Korea, though many funds were reportedly moved from South Korea to Qatar, where frozen assets are estimated at $6 billion.

The report said Iran also holds about $3 billion in Japan, $2 billion each in the United States and Luxembourg, and roughly $1 billion in Oman. Some of the assets have been frozen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A large share consists of payments for Iranian oil sales to China, India, South Korea and Japan that became stuck after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Separately, U.S. officials told CNN that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is written in an “extremely vague” way to create a more favorable environment for the later technical talks. The wording, they said, allows Iran to present the agreement domestically as a political win.

G7 leaders meeting in France welcomed the announcement, said “free passage without restrictions or fees is a central pillar of international trade,” and voiced support for implementation. They also called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Lebanon so the Lebanese government can move ahead with disarming Hezbollah. On Tuesday, Al Arabiya published a copy of the U.S.-Iran memorandum, which sets out a roadmap to end the conflict: an immediate and permanent halt to war on all fronts, including Lebanon, a 60-day timeline for a final deal, U.S. pledges to lift the naval blockade, restore commercial shipping to prewar levels, withdraw forces from surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement, and create at least a $300 billion economic recovery program for Iran. Washington also pledged to end all sanctions, including UN and U.S. unilateral measures, on a later agreed schedule, while the Treasury would issue waivers for oil, petrochemicals and financial services and release frozen Iranian funds. The sides agreed Iran will not build nuclear weapons, will keep its current nuclear program status, and that final disputes over enriched material and nuclear issues will be settled in a binding UN Security Council resolution.