Three Billion Dollar Windfall: Frozen Iranian Assets in Iraq Unfrozen

Shafaq News/ Iranian authorities announced today, Saturday, the unfreezing of nearly three billion dollars of their financial assets domiciled in Iraq; a move that is deemed a substantial financial windfall for the Iranian economy, which has long been contending with the burden of international sanctions.

This development was made public by several Iranian media outlets, who quoted Yahya al-Eshaq, the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce.

Al-Eshaq noted that "a portion of our outstanding debts owed by Iraq has been liquidated. Some of it is allocated to address the needs of Iranian pilgrims, while another part has been diverted towards the procurement of essential commodities."

"According to incoming reports, the amount paid stands close to three billion dollars."

"These funds, hitherto frozen in Iraq due to US sanctions, will be released through Iraqi banks," as per al-Jazeera's breaking news Twitter account.

Iran maintains extensive trade and economic relations with Iraq, with Baghdad being Tehran's largest trading partner. Nevertheless, Iran's assets remained frozen in Iraqi banks due to the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran. Despite proposals from Iraq to barter these funds with other products, Iranian officials have consistently rejected such suggestions, preferring instead to pursue the release of their frozen assets.