Iran to get $32 bln of unfrozen assets after sanctions end: Central Bank

TEHRAN - Agence France-Presse

Iran's head of Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO) Ali Akbar Salehi (L) talks with the Head of the Central Bank of Iran, Valiollah Seif, as they arrive for a press conference of Iranian President on January 17, 2016 in the capital Tehran after international sanctions on Iran were lifted. AFP Photo

Iran will receive $32 billion of unfrozen assets after sanctions were lifted in a deal with world powers over its nuclear program, Iranian Central Bank chief Valiollah Seif said on Jan. 19.

Seif was quoted by state television as saying that $28 billion (25.8 billion euros) would go to the Central Bank and $4 billion “will be transferred to the state treasury as the share of the government.” 

The unfreezing of assets comes after the United Nations atomic watchdog confirmed at the weekend that Iran had complied with measures imposed by the deal with global powers reached in Vienna in July.

The assets can be used “to buy and import goods, as the entry of such an amount of currency in to the country is not logical,” Seif said.

The Central Bank plans to keep the funds “in centralized and safe accounts” abroad, he added.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate whose 2013 election victory helped launch the huge diplomatic effort toward the deal, has promised that the lifting of sanctions will give a major boost to Iran’s economy.