DUBAI, December 4. /TASS/. Iran has obtained all necessary guarantees to access $6 bln worth of its assets which were previously unfrozen by the Biden administration, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.
When asked to comment on a recent vote by the US House of Representatives which supported blocking the Iranian assets, the Iranian diplomat said: "For the bill to take effect, it still has to be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the US president." "However, as [Iran’s] cooperation with the United States is based on trust, we have been given necessary guarantees on the issue," ISNA news agency quoted him as saying. According to Kanaani, the money is available to the Islamic Republic and the Iranian authorities can use it to suit their needs, as he also called on Washington to honor its commitments to Tehran.
On December 1, the House passed a bill that would permanently freeze $6 bln belonging to Iran. As many as 307 members of the lower chamber, including 217 Republicans and 90 Democrats, voted for the bill which was introduced by Michael McCaul, Lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and 24 fellow Republicans, with 119 votes against.
Earlier, US National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the $6 bln worth of Iranian funds were still sitting in a Qatari bank, adding that the money can be used for humanitarian purposes only. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington retained the right to refreeze the $6 bln made available under an earlier deal. In turn, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington had not seen any evidence showing that Tehran may be involved in planning or carrying out Hamas attacks against Israel.