US lets Iran use frozen funds

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Wednesday it was allowing Iran to use frozen funds to settle debts in South Korea and Japan, as talks drag on over reviving a nuclear deal that could see sanctions relief.

The United States maintains sweeping sanctions on the clerical regime, meaning that companies that deal with many bank accounts in Iran can face legal penalties in the world’s largest economy.

The State Department said that it has been letting Japanese and South Korean companies receive payments from US-targeted Iranian accounts to pay for exports shipped before former president Donald Trump’s administration started enforcing its toughest sanctions in 2019.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had signed an earlier waiver and has extended it for 90 days as “these repayment transactions can sometimes be time-consuming,” a State Department spokesperson said. “To be clear: The waiver does not allow for the transfer of any funds to Iran.”