The issue of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets held in global banks has once again become a central point of contention and backchannel negotiations between Tehran and Washington. This comes amid significant discrepancies between domestic and international estimates of the total value of these funds.

Disputed Estimates Over Total Frozen Assets

Figures regarding Iran’s frozen assets in foreign banks remain inconsistent.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency and the Central Bank of Iran estimate the baseline figure at $24 billion. In contrast, international institutions such as The Wall Street Journal and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) place the total between $100 billion and $123 billion.

Meanwhile, several regional assessments estimate that around $44 billion remains held across China, Iraq, India, Japan, the United States, and Luxembourg.

Qatar’s Proposal to Release $12 Billion

Following a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Doha, Qatar proposed a roadmap aimed at addressing the issue.

Under the proposal, $12 billion of Iran’s frozen assets held in Qatar would be released. Of this amount, $6 billion would be allocated for humanitarian purposes, including food and medicine, while the remaining $6 billion would be directed toward debt repayment.

However, due to U.S. opposition, it is expected that the funds would not be released as cash but instead made available as a credit line for purchasing goods through Qatar.

Efforts to Unfreeze $10 Billion in the United Arab Emirates

Alongside the Qatari channel, media reports indicate a separate diplomatic track focused on releasing approximately $10 billion in Iranian assets frozen in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Tehran has stated that resolving the status of these funds is a key precondition for progress in broader negotiations with the United States.

U.S. Oversight and Restrictions on Cash Access

The U.S. is seeking to impose strict monitoring mechanisms on how these assets are used.

Washington’s objective is to prevent direct cash transfers to the Iranian government, ensuring that the funds are used exclusively for the purchase of essential goods and humanitarian supplies.