WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday ruled out any sanction relief for Iran under a draft agreement to free five American citizens from Iranian prison, western media reported.
Blinken responding to a question at a press briefing about the expected release of $6 billion Iranian frozen funds under the prisoner deal, said “Iran will not be receiving any sanctions relief,” AFP reported.
He said that Iranian assets would be transferred to restricted accounts and to be used only for humanitarian purposes.
Blinken Rules Out Any Sanction Relief for Iran Under Prisoner Deal
Blinken went on to say the US government has been in touch with the families of five Americans freed from jail to house arrest in an expected first step to be freed.
Earlier reports surfaced in media that Iran may free five detained US citizens under an agreement to unfreeze $6 billion Iranian funds and get some Iranians released from US jails.
As a first step, Iran had put four imprisoned US citizens under house arrest in Tehran while a fifth has already been under home confinement.
The White House cheered the development but refused to share the details of the agreement with Iran, saying the negotiations are delicate.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations told the media that the two countries have reached an agreement to release five prisoners reciprocally.
