The U.S. and Qatar have agreed not to act on any Iranian request to access $6 billion in funds that were transferred from South Korea after a blanket waiver by President Joe Biden’s administration meant to clear the way for the release of five Americans held by Iran, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The move stops short of freezing the funds. Under the terms of the agreement, the funds must be requested by Iran and can go only for humanitarian purposes. The Americans were released last month.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the agreement and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The funding has been a concern as questions mount about Iran’s influence or role in the Hamas attack on Israel. Iran is Hamas’ principal financial and military sponsor, though the White House says it has not uncovered information that Iran was directly involved in the operation, AP reports.
