Iran has said that it will use part of the initial $6 billion in previously frozen assets to buy "needed goods" following talks in Doha.
The official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday that Iranian negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said discussions with Qatari officials included how part of the funds would be allocated for those purchases.
“During meetings with Qatari officials, some issues related to spending part of the initial $6 billion were reviewed, and it was decided that, based on our country’s declared needs, the purchase of needed goods would be carried out and made available to Iran,” Gharibabadi said.
He made the remarks after concluding a round of talks in Doha, where Iranian officials met Qatari and Pakistani mediators to discuss the implementation of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding with the US.
Gharibabadi said the three sides agreed to establish an “urgent communication channel” to formally document and monitor the memorandum's implementation.
He also reiterated that “no direct meeting” took place between the Iranian and US delegations during the Doha talks.
Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US in June 2026 outlining the conditional release of frozen assets, according to Article 11.
The $6 billion held in Qatar remains withheld until Iran meets specific compliance milestones under the MoU terms, a US official said.
Iranian officials hailed potential access to the funds as a diplomatic victory, while US sources stressed that it was for humanitarian use only.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s envoy, Jared Kushner, proposed that the US and Qatar oversee unfrozen Iranian funds earmarked for American corn, soybeans and wheat.
"All that money's coming back in the form of purchases of food which they desperately need. They have 91 million people; they can't feed them. So, the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers," Trump said earlier.
