Iran's assets frozen by US sanctions have been released in some countries, and Tehran is trying to access the rest, announced First Vice President Mohammed Mokhber.
Mokhber told reporters that preparations had been made to secure the release of the blocked assets in other countries without naming them or providing details.
He highlighted the administration's efforts to contain inflation in the country, despite the Ukrainian war and the widespread protests that erupted after the death of Kurdish Mahsa Amini during police custody.
The annual inflation in the last Iranian year, which ended on March 20, dropped from 59 percent in August 2021 to 46 percent, said Mokhber.
- US denies interim agreement
US and Iran denied press reports that they had reached an interim agreement, including releasing the frozen assets in exchange for Iranian nuclear concessions and releasing Iranian-US detainees.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press conference that the reports of an interim deal are "completely false."
Asked about negotiations with Iran, Miller asserted that the US administration always had the "ability" to deliver messages to Iran when it's in Washington's interests to do so.
He reiterated that the administration is committed to ensuring that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, recalling that "diplomacy is the best means to accomplish that."
Miller confirmed that Iran could only access its funds held in accounts for Iraq for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable transactions.
"The United States has approved similar transactions on an ongoing basis, consistent with US law and in full coordination with the Government of Iraq."
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said during a press conference that his country might conclude an imminent agreement for exchanging prisoners, noting that there is no such thing as negotiations for an interim agreement or new arrangements to replace the nuclear deal.
The reports said Iran's frozen assets in South Korea, Iraq, and the International Monetary Fund are expected to be released.
Last week, Iraq agreed to pay Iran about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt after receiving a sanctions waiver from the US.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahhaf said in a brief statement that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had made progress "regarding financial dues between Iraq and Iran during his discussion with his American counterpart in Riyadh" when asked about the funds.
Hussein met the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference last Thursday.
- Banking discussions in Qatar
Meanwhile, the official IRNA news agency reported that the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Reza Farzin, met his Qatari counterpart in Doha.
The Iranian ambassador to Qatar, Hamid Dehghani, tweeted that the policy of strengthening relations with neighboring countries requires developing monetary and banking cooperation.
Qatar News Agency (QNA) stated that Farzin held talks with the Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB), Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani and discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries in the financial and banking fields.
The Central Bank of Iran stated that Farzin's visit to Doha comes within the government's regional diplomacy framework to boost monetary, banking, and economic cooperation.
The governor will talk with banking officials in Qatar to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations.
Aside from the US sanctions preventing Iran from dealing in dollars and severing its banks' connection to the SWIFT network, Iranian banks face international restrictions.
Paris-based Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) placed Iran on its blacklist after it failed to comply with international anti-terrorism financing norms.
