Iran Has $100 Billion Frozen in Asian Countries

The head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce states that Iran has approximately $100 billion in frozen currency in countries such as China, India, and Japan, but cannot access it quickly. According to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Yahya Al-Eshaq said on Friday, December 26, "We have about $100 billion in frozen currency in countries like China, India, and Japan that we cannot use quickly." He added, "But this currency belongs to the government and can be utilized; however, the conditions for this must be created." Following the imposition of Western sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, the money from Iran's oil sales was blocked in several countries, including China, India, Japan, and South Korea, and Iran still does not have permission to use most of this money. Additionally, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Iran's Minister of Industry, stated on Tuesday, December 15, that part of Iran's oil money is blocked in Sri Lanka due to sanctions, and negotiations are underway to recover these funds. In November 2013, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesperson for Hassan Rouhani's government, stated that China's oil debt to Iran was 22 billion euros (about $30 billion). Iranian officials announced last year that 18 billion euros of China's debts would be settled through the implementation of projects in Iran. Meanwhile, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, over $45 billion worth of oil and gas projects were signed with Iran, but all these projects have either been canceled or remain in limbo due to delays by the Chinese. In recent years, there have also been reports of Indian goods being exported to Iran in exchange for this country's debt following oil purchases from Iran. India is the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil after China. Reuters reported in July that five of India's refineries had a total debt of $4.6 billion to Iran. Reports indicate that over the past year, following the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in Geneva, $7 billion of Iran's frozen assets in Japan, India, and South Korea have been released. The six world powers extended last year's nuclear agreement for another seven months on November 24, and according to ISNA, it was decided that $700 million of Iran's frozen assets would be released each month over a six-month period. A precise figure for Iran's blocked foreign assets has not yet been published, but the U.S. government previously estimated this amount to be around $100 billion.