August 06, 2021
The United States has unfrozen some of the billions of dollars of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea to allow South Korean firms to be paid for goods shipped to Iran.
Joong Ang Daily said $70 million has been paid out of the frozen accounts to about 40 Korean firms. It said about another $20 million is owed to other firms, but didn’t say if they would be paid.
Iran has about $7 billion in funds frozen in Korea, according to Iranian officials, and about $9 billion, according to Korean news accounts, so the payments amount to only about 1 percent of the total frozen and does not amount to much economically.
Furthermore, Iran does not get its hands on any of the funds. The only people being helped are the owners and staffs of the 40 Korean companies that have received payments.
The payments are a US response to pleas from Seoul, and really have nothing to do with US relations with the Islamic Republic and with the ongoing talks in Vienna over reviving the nuclear agreement.