'Great victory': Iran says Qatar to release $6bn in frozen assets, contradicts Trump's claims

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar would be released, even as negotiations with the United States faced fresh uncertainty following attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend.According to the Associated Press (AP), Pezeshkian is the highest-ranking Iranian official to publicly refer to the release of the funds. However, US officials have maintained that no frozen Iranian assets have been released so far.Pezeshkian described the interim arrangement as “a great victory for the Iranian people.”Speaking in remarks carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian said: “Based on the plans made, $6 billion out of the total $12 billion of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out.”The report said the remarks appeared aimed at building domestic support for the interim agreement under discussion between Tehran and Washington.The announcement came a day after Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait, following new US airstrikes against the Islamic Republic. Tehran also threatened a 'complete halt' in negotiations if Washington continued its military strikes.

Recently, Iran had twice targeted vessels using a route near Oman's side of the strait in recent days, prompting retaliatory US airstrikes and raising concerns that negotiations towards a formal end to the conflict could be derailed.The report noted that while Qatar has played a key mediating role in the negotiations alongside Pakistan, Qatar has not acknowledged any transfer of the frozen funds.Pakistan, which has been mediating the talks, has said negotiations between the United States and Iran are expected to resume on Tuesday on the terms of the interim deal. The Trump administration said on Sunday that nothing had been cancelled and that technical discussions remained on schedule in the coming days. Iran, however, has not confirmed whether it will participate.