15:05

A senior Iranian source has claimed that the United States has agreed to release Iranian frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, although a U.S. official has swiftly denied the claim.

Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, that the statement was made by a senior Iranian source involved in the talks in Islamabad.

The source described the alleged move as a sign of “seriousness” in reaching an agreement with Washington and said it was one of Iran’s demands conveyed to the U.S. side during the talks.

According to the source, the unfreezing of assets is “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” which is expected to be a key issue in the negotiations.

A second Iranian source stated that the United States had agreed to release around $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds held in Qatar. However, U.S. officials denied that any such agreement had been reached.

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Rеports from Washington claiming that the United States had agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks for the past eight years have been denied, CBS reported.