Iran, Qatar agree to use freed funds through SWIFT, LCs

The governors of the central banks of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar met on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and discussed the issues related to the development of banking cooperation and joint investments after the transfer of $6 billion to Iranian banks in Qatar, which has been materialized, and the solutions for developing relations using these sources.

Mohammad Reza Farzin, the Governor General of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), stated in that meeting, “Considering that Iran’s freed financial resources can be used in Qatar through SWIFT and with openings of LCs , technical communication between Qatari banks and 6 Iranian banks is currently underway. By establishing these technical connections, the operating banks send and operate the necessary payment orders.”

The CBI governor pointed to the provisions of the previous agreement between Iran and Qatar regarding the use of these funds in 6 Iranian banks in Qatar, stressing speeding up the issue in order to start the payments as early as next week.

Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani, the Governor of Qatar Central Bank, for his part, emphasized in the meeting, “Qatar adheres to all its obligations with Iran and there is no obstacle in the development of banking relations between the two countries.”

The Qatari banking chief pointed to the fundemental and good measures that have been taken in the past few days regarding the use of Iran’s financial resources in Qatar, saying, “The rumors raised about this in the past one or two days have no real value and were mostly like a joke and a media gossip.”

Iran rejected a report that said the country had been barred from accessing its $6 billion funds recently unfrozen and transferred to Qatari banks as reported by US media.

Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations dismissed a report that claimed the United States and Qatar had agreed to prevent the Islamic Republic from accessing $6 billion recently unfrozen and transferred to Qatari bank. The American daily the New York Times yesterday made such a claim amid the Zionist regime’s war on Gaza.

“Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, told House Democrats on Thursday that Iran would no longer have access to the funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. The money was under close supervision and strict conditions that it be used only for humanitarian purposes,” the NY Times reported.

Yesterday, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken did not confirm the reports about the agreement between the US and Qatar to re-block the Iranian money in a Qatari bank.

Back in August, Iran and the United States agreed to a Qatar-brokered deal to secure the release of some $6 billion of Iranian funds that had remained blocked in two South Korean banks since 2018 under the pretext of US sanctions.

The money was successfully transferred last month to accounts held by six Iranian banks in Qatar’s Ahlibank and Dukhan Bank.

This year’s IMF annual meeting is taking place in Marrakech, Morocco on October 9-15, 2023.

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