FM pursuing case of blocked funds in Japan: Spokesman

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says the Islamic Republic is pursuing the release of Iranian funds frozen in Japan due to US sanctions, adding that Tokyo has repeatedly announced its readiness to repatriate them.

Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks in his weekly press conference on Monday, hours after Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.

“We will continue to follow up on the issue of unfreezing Iranian funds held in various countries, as we did before,” Kan’ani said.

With regard to Japan, he added, the issue has been raised at different levels, and last year, during a meeting on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed the matter.

The diplomat went on to say that the Japanese government has repeatedly announced its readiness to repatriate the frozen assets and is making efforts to make this happen.

Iran has tens of billions of dollar worth of funds in foreign banks that it cannot access because of US sanctions.

The funds are mostly kept in banks in South Korea, Iraq, China, Japan and India where Iran is owed for shipments of crude and other energy products that took place before the United States imposed its sanctions on Tehran in 2018.

Kan’ani also said that forging ties with Japan, among other countries, is on the Iranian government’s agenda, adding that both sides seek to enhance cooperation.

According to Kan’ani, Amir-Abdollahian has held a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi as well as Japan’s Health Minister Katsunobu Kato to talk on major regional and international issues.

'Political solution only way to end Ukraine crisis'

Regarding Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said that since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022, Iran has emphasized the need for reaching a political solution as the most effective way to end the ongoing crisis.

Kan’ani added Tehran believes that only a political solution can safely end this crisis and has made efforts to help the two sides return to the negotiation table to end the war.

“What is important for Iran is that the Ukraine crisis must not threaten and challenge international peace and security,” he said. 

‘We will not wait for JCPOA’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kan’ani said Iran will not wait for the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and keeps on adopting measures to neutralize the sanctions.

“Iran has a strategic policy for lifting the sanctions, … we will not wait for the JCPOA, and at the same time, we have not left the negotiation table and will continue the path of neutralizing the sanctions,” he said.

The spokesman further said that it is not true that the negotiations have come to a standstill, adding that the path of diplomacy is always promising and Iran will follow JCPOA-related issues in this direction.

SS