Iran not obliged to buy US soybeans and corn: $6 billion unfrozen — Tehran chooses for itself
The first tranche — $6 billion for essential goods and medicines, the 2023 agreement, and the possibility of US purchases only if prices are competitive. Another $6 billion in Qatar has also been unfrozen. Iran reserves the right to choose.
As reported by CCTV+, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said that Iran is not obliged to purchase agricultural products from the United States under the memorandum of understanding signed with Washington, the Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. Following Monday's high level talks between the US and Iran at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland, the US vice president told journalists that if the US agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets, the funds could be used to purchase American soybeans, corn and wheat.
Hemmati said the first amount of $6 billion would be used to purchase essential goods and medicines in accordance with the agreement reached between Iran and the US in 2023. He also said Iran does not rule out purchases from the US if its products are more suitable in terms of both price and quality. Iran's president said on Sunday that $6 billion held in Qatar would be unfrozen. Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs said all parties had agreed to begin implementing previously signed asset unfreezing agreements. The funds consist of two amounts of $6 billion each, and the unfreezing agreements were immediately put into effect.
In August 2023, Iran and the US reached a prisoner swap agreement that included the unfreezing of Iranian assets. Under the deal, the US unfroze $6 billion in Iranian oil export revenues held in South Korean banks and transferred them to Iranian accounts in Qatari banks. The funds, held under Qatari control, are to be used for the purchase of humanitarian aid needed by Iran.
Iranian assets frozen in foreign banks are estimated at tens of billions of dollars. The 2023 agreement was the first breakthrough in unlocking part of those funds, but it was strictly limited to humanitarian purposes. Qatar acted as a guarantor that the money would go specifically to food and medicine purchases, not to other needs. Hemmati's statement that Iran is not obliged to buy American products underscores that Tehran retains room for manoeuvre even under strict conditions. Price and quality remain the deciding factors.
When it comes to $6 billion, every cent counts. But for Iran, it is not just about getting the money — it is about keeping the right to choose. US soybeans, corn and wheat may be of high quality, but if there is cheaper or better produce elsewhere, Tehran is not going to turn a blind eye. Asset unfreezing is not an act of charity, but the result of negotiations. And Iran intends to use its funds as it sees fit, even if that means buying from America's competitors rather than from America itself. In a world where sanctions and counter sanctions have become the norm, freedom of choice is the last thing a state has left. And Tehran has no intention of giving it up.
