US Agrees to Release Frozen Iranian Assets in Iraq

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council during a meeting in Tehran.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council during a meeting in Tehran.
TT

US Agrees to Release Frozen Iranian Assets in Iraq

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council during a meeting in Tehran.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council during a meeting in Tehran.

Secretary-General of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Hamid Hosseini revealed on Friday that the US has agreed to release frozen Iranian assets in Iraq.

"After the recent visit of the Iraqi Foreign Minister to Iran, the issue of releasing Iranian resources came to an end and Iraqi officials announced that some of these resources were released through various banks."

In remarks on Twitter, he cited Iraqi sources to confirm that Washington had agreed to release Iranian resources at the Trade Bank of Iraq.

"Several transactions have taken place," according to Hosseini.

Earlier, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein informed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhan that efforts were being exerted to repay debts to Iran "soon."

Last month, Iran also held talks to release its frozen assets in South Korea and Japan.

South Korea and Iran have agreed a way forward that could see billions of dollars of frozen oil money unblocked, amounting to $7 billion. However, Seoul said it was seeking Washington's green light.



New Hampshire Hamlet Tied in First US Election Day Votes

Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
TT

New Hampshire Hamlet Tied in First US Election Day Votes

Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Voters in the US hamlet of Dixville Notch launched Election Day in the first minutes of Tuesday with a tied vote, mirroring the incredibly close national polls in the White House race.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each got three ballots in the tiny community in the northeastern state of New Hampshire which for decades has kicked off Election Day at the stroke of midnight Monday -- hours before the rest of the country's polling stations open.

The Democratic vice president and Republican ex-president have been battling in a tense and exceptionally close race, with opinion polls largely tied.

To a gathered crowd of journalists, the vote opened with a rendition of the US national anthem performed on an accordion.

Electoral laws in New Hampshire allow municipalities with fewer than 100 residents to open their polling stations at midnight and to close them when all registered voters have fulfilled their civic duty.

Dixville Notch's residents voted unanimously for then candidate Joe Biden in 2020, reportedly only the second presidential hopeful to get all the votes since the midnight voting tradition began in 1960.

Most polling stations on the East Coast will open at 6:00 or 7:00 am (1100 or 1200 GMT) on Tuesday.

Dixville Notch voters handed a surprise unanimous victory to Republican White House hopeful Nikki Haley in New Hampshire's primary in January.

Haley ultimately quit the race due to an insurmountable Trump lead -- but Tuesday's vote shows that three voters opted not to back the billionaire in the general election.