Iran announced Monday that it now has access to more than $100 billion in previously frozen overseas assets and has reconnected with an important international banking network, coming as part of the nuclear agreement with world powers that was implemented last month.
"These assets have fully been released and we can use them," Iranian government spokesman Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said Sunday night, reports Press TV.
Nobakht said that most of the money was from Iranian oil sales and had been accumulating in escrow accounts at banks in China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey since 2012, when international sanctions were tightened over its nuclear activities, according to The Associated Press.
The Iranian government owns about $7 billion of the money, while the rest belongs to the central bank and the National Development Fund. Most of it will remain overseas and be invested and spent on purchasing goods, Nobakht said, noting that bringing it home could cause inflation to rise.
"There is no need to bring the money in. It is likely that a certain amount which is needed is brought in. But altogether, it is not necessary because we can use it in our (overseas bank) accounts," he said.
Iran has also been allowed to rejoin the international banking network known as SWIFT, which handles a large volume of across-border wire transfers. Iran's reintegration with SWIFT will likely help persuade firms to return to the Iranian market as the country prepares for an economic breakthrough, according to The Washington Post.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and a 120-member delegation of political and business leaders racked up more than $30 billion in potential business agreements with France and Italy during a trip to Europe last week. Italy and Iran signed some $18 billion in deals covering health, agriculture, infrastructure and energy sectors, while a deal worth between $4 to $5 billion was struck with Italian oil services group Saipem and Iran awarded up to $6.2 billion in contracts with Italian steel firm Danieli, reports USA Today. France's Peugeot-Citroen entered a deal with Iranian automaker Khodro to produce more 200,000 cars per year in Iran, French energy company Total plans to begin buying crude oil from Iran, and Airbus will send 118 passenger jets to Iran Air and provide maintenance and pilot training.
