Khamenei's military adviser, condition for the US: “If Trump wants a deal, this is the test”
Mohsen Rezaei, the military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, said in an interview that negotiations between Washington and Tehran are stalling mainly because of the issue of Iranian assets frozen abroad, reports AFP.
For decades, Iran has been subject to US sanctions that affect its economy and financial system. Additionally, the country saw its foreign assets frozen following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“If (Donald Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test” of confidence, said Rezaei, an adviser to Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to statements in an interview given to the American station CNN.
“It's about our money”
There are no official figures on frozen Iranian assets, but Tehran media recently estimated the amount to be between $100 billion and $123 billion.
Iran is making any deal with the United States conditional on unlocking some of these assets to end the war in the Middle East once and for all.
“It is a test that the United States must pass to pave the way” to a deal, added the former head of the Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic's ideological army.
“This is our money, not the United States',” Mohsen Rezaei stressed.
“We will give another dimension to the war,” Razaei threatens
The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, marking the start of a conflict that is rocking the world economy as it spills over into the rest of the Middle East, with Iranian retaliation.
Tehran and Washington agreed to a ceasefire on April 8, thanks to Pakistani mediation.
But hostilities have flared up in recent days, including overnight Friday into Saturday, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic oil sea route blocked by Iran.
Mohsen Rezaei warned that Iran “will expand the conflict” beyond the Persian Gulf if the United States resumes hostilities.
“We will give another dimension to the war by attacking other American bases than the ones we have hit so far,” the adviser insisted, adding, however, that “the probability of a war is low.”
