Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday evening that frozen Iranian assets will be released and a $300 billion reconstruction plan will aid Iran's recovery. He stated that lifting the naval blockade was the first item mentioned in the memorandum of understanding with the US, according to Iranian state-linked channels.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Saturday evening that the mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets has been set and that a $300 billion reconstruction plan will fund Iran's recovery. He specifically identified lifting the naval blockade as the first issue addressed in the memorandum of understanding with Washington, marking the most explicit linkage between sanctions relief and a naval-standoff resolution yet made by a senior Iranian official.
The remarks follow a series of overlapping reports The Zioneer has tracked. On Friday evening, Israeli daily Israel Hayom (citing a US official) reported a $12 billion asset-release framework under Qatari oversight — a confirmed diplomatic step. Hours earlier, Iranian media had floated a potential deal worth $24 billion that also included provisions for halting hostilities in Lebanon and opening 60-day nuclear negotiations. Reuters separately confirmed that the UAE had already transferred $3 billion of a larger $10-20 billion tranche back to Tehran.
Araghchi's statement adds the naval-blockade lift as a stated Iranian precondition — an element that was also present in the 14-article draft MOU published by the semi-official Mehr News Agency on Saturday morning. That framework, which The Zioneer reported on earlier, included a $300 billion rehabilitation fund and demands for total US withdrawal from the region but omitted any mention of Iran's missile program or uranium surrender.
What remains open: whether the US has accepted the naval-blockade condition on the record, and whether the $300 billion figure represents a total package or a separate reconstruction track. Araghchi offered no timeline for the asset transfers or for the next round of negotiations.
2 developments
- DevelopingKhamenei adviser: Trump agreed to release $24B in frozen Iranian assets but won't say so publicly
- StrongReport: Israel Hayom says US agrees to release $12B in frozen Iranian funds via Qatar
- StrongIran media: potential US deal includes $24 billion frozen assets, Lebanon provisions
- StrongUAE agrees to unlock $10–20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in regional deal
Source and signal
- Internal intake