Ghalibaf details $12bn Iranian assets with unrestricted central bank access Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and head of its negotiating team said in an interview with state TV aired on Tuesday that $12 billion of Iranian assets will be placed at the disposal of the central bank under a memorandum of understanding, allowing […]

Ghalibaf details $12bn Iranian assets with unrestricted central bank access

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and head of its negotiating team said in an interview with state TV aired on Tuesday that $12 billion of Iranian assets will be placed at the disposal of the central bank under a memorandum of understanding, allowing the funds to be used in any currency and for any type of purchase.

In response to US President Donald Trump that part of Iran’s released assets would only be spent on buying grain from American farmers, said the statement was “not true.”

“Islamic Republic holds $24 billion in assets in various locations. Under a memorandum of understanding, $12 billion of that amount would be placed at the disposal of the central bank, allowing it to be used in any currency and for the purchase of any goods,” Ghalibaf said. “The critics do not want to accept that the agreement has lifted restrictions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and ended the blockade.”