Washington agrees to unfreeze Iranian assets to unblock Strait of Hormuz - media

The United States has agreed to unfreeze Iran's financial assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Saturday, ahead of a meeting of delegations from the two countries in Islamabad.

According to the agency's interlocutor, the unfreezing of Tehran's funds is "directly related to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz," which is expected to be a key issue in the negotiations.

The source said that Iran perceives this intention of the United States as a sign of a "serious" attitude towards the negotiation process and reaching an agreement. The interlocutor did not name the value of the assets that Washington agreed to unfreeze, but, according to another Iranian source, it is about USD 6 billion in frozen Iranian funds held by Qatar. They were blocked by Washington in 2018.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on Friday, US Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan to try to broker a deal with Iran to resolve the nuclear dispute and end the war. Meanwhile, officials from Tehran are already in the country for the talks.