(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17. The value of
Iran's assets frozen in South Korea due to the new sanctions
imposed by the US against Iran in 2018 for its nuclear program is
gradually decreasing, trend reports.
After the announcement of the agreement between the US and Iran
on the release of Iran's frozen assets abroad, a number of
interesting facts have emerged.
So, as a result of sanctions, approximately $7 billion of Iran's
funds obtained from the export of oil and gas condensate to South
Korea have been frozen in this country. These funds were kept in
two banks in South Korea (Woori Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea)
with the country's national currency, the "won".
For about 3–4 years, no income is expected from those funds. A
few days ago, the Director General of the Central Bank of Iran,
Mohammad Farzin, said that as a result of the depreciation of the
South Korean won against the US dollar, the value of Iran's fund
assets in South Korea decreased by $1 billion.
According to the rules in South Korea, it is possible to convert
a maximum of 500 million won into euros per week. It means this
process will last 4-6 weeks. The amount of funds converted into
euros will be approximately 5.3 billion euros, or $5.77 billion. It
is clear that the mentioned $6 billion has already been reduced to
$5.77 billion.
On May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group
(Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed
new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.
Over the past period, the sanctions have affected Iranian oil
exports and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The
sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets
abroad.
Then, by what mechanism will Iran's assets frozen in South Korea
be unblocked?
The funds will later be transferred to the Swiss Central Bank's
account in South Korea. After the funds are transferred to the
Swiss Central Bank account in Germany, they will be transferred to
two bank accounts in Qatar. This is because six private banks in
Iran have opened accounts in those two banks in Qatar and will be
transferred to those accounts later.
These funds will be used to import products that are not subject
to sanctions against Iran, mainly animal feed. Because among the
products imported into the country, one of the products on which
the most foreign currency is spent is animal feed, It is reported
that the funds withdrawn from the block will be insured in
Qatar.
According to the statistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran imported corn feed worth $1.29
billion during the first 4 months of the current Iranian year
(March 21 through July 22, 2023).
Iran claims that it has great economic resources and that
sanctions have no effect on the country's development and economy.
It has spent its resources to get back its money, which currently
does not reach $6 billion, and spend it on animal feed.
It is clear that Iran is already facing a serious shortage of
foreign currency. Sanctions are doing their job. It is not so
difficult to predict that Iran will face an even worse situation in
the coming years if the sanctions continue. The lifting of
sanctions goes along with the solution of the problem related to
Iran's nuclear program.
The problem regarding Iran's nuclear program is like an
unresolved black box. Although the US side previously showed
interest in opening this black box, it currently does not even
intend to hold discussions on Iran's nuclear program.
Although Iran has the opportunity to open the black box, it
prefers not to. Despite Iran's claims that it is trying to build
confidence in its nuclear program, some unknown steps, including
the discovery of natural uranium deposits in the Marivan County of
Iran's Kurdistan Province, high-level enrichment of uranium, and so
on, indicate that there may be other goals.
Iran is mainly trying to achieve the abolition of sanctions
imposed by the US and Western countries, the removal of its funds
frozen abroad, and the abolition of the restriction on the export
of crude oil. In return, the US and Western countries want Iran not
to acquire an atomic bomb, to keep its nuclear program under
control, and to reduce the level of uranium enrichment.
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