Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reportersin Jaipur, India on Tuesday, that it’s going to take a few days to work out a deal between the U.S. and Iran. He didn’t seem to think that the exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran on Monday would be a hindrance. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress on—I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,’ he said. “So it’ll take a few days. The President’s expressed his desire to make it—he’s either going to make a good deal or no deal. So on that, everyone should be assured. But that may take a little while, I mean, a few more days.”
An informed source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Tasnim that the talks in Qatar focused on efforts to secure the release of $12 billion in Iran’s frozen funds at the start of implementation of a possible Iran-US memorandum of understanding. The informed source explained that, according to the 14-article text of the memorandum of understanding, Iran’s frozen assets are to be released during the negotiations, with the total amount estimated at $24 billion.
According to the source, Iran insists that half of that amount must be made available with the announcement of the MoU, while the remaining funds are to be transferred within 60 days. He noted that Qalibaf’s recent visit to Qatar was aimed at reaching an understanding on implementing this Iranian demand and the mechanism for accessing $12 billion in the first stage and removing obstacles.
