The United States can once again seize Iran’s $6 billion

The United States can once again seize Iran’s $6 billion after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to Bloomberg, White House officials said the possibility of refreezing $6 billion in Iranian oil money, which was released in the prisoner exchange after the Palestinian militants’ operation against Israel, has strengthened.

Last month, Iran gained access to $6 billion in frozen funds held in South Korea in exchange for five U.S. citizens imprisoned in Iran and released under a deal brokered by Qatar.

FUNDS CAN BE FROZEN AGAIN

Republicans and some Democrats in Congress called for the freeze to be reimposed after the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the administration began considering that option.

The $6 billion, which will be used for humanitarian purposes, became the target of criticism last week against Joe Biden’s approach to Iran. This practice put Biden at the center of criticism due to accusations that Iran may have played a role in last weekend’s attack.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday on MSNBC that the $6 billion could “be frozen again” at any time. “None of that was assigned,” Kirby said. None was spent. “So all this money is still in a Qatari bank and that is an option for us,” he said.

THE IRANIAN CONNECTION OF THE OPERATION IS INVESTIGATED

A US official who spoke to Bloomberg said yesterday that intelligence agencies still have no evidence that Iran directed the operation or that Iran knew in advance the details of Hamas’s plans. However, Iran is still believed to have information that action is being planned.

In her statement yesterday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the administration is not ruling out new sanctions against Iran and stated that they “will not take anything off the table in terms of possible future actions.”