The Iranians came to the negotiations in Pakistan with most of their requests dealing with the economy, including the unfreezing of funds that had already been frozen during the Biden administration ($6 billion in Qatar).
While the Iranians were quick to assert that the United States was right to unfreeze these funds, officials made it clear that Washington reserved the right to keep the accounts completely frozen as long as there was no significant progress in peace talks in Islamabad.
Following Iran's attacks on the Gulf states, the United Arab Emirates privately warned Tehran that it was considering freezing assets of Iranian "front companies" operating on its territory.
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US Treasury Secretary Scott Basnet has declared an "economic fury" operation. He said the US would not be satisfied with just sanctions on oil, but would work to completely dry up any Iranian cash flow in the world. He said the Gulf states are "much more willing now to share data on bank accounts of members of the Iranian regime.".
Basnet sent formal warning letters to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The letters had a clear message: any bank that allowed Iranian funds to "leak" through it would be cut off from the American banking system. He specifically named two Chinese banks (without naming them) that were under close scrutiny.
He also said that a special exemption that allowed Iran to sell oil that was already at sea ("stranded oil") would not be renewed this Sunday (April 19). This means that any Iranian oil tanker at sea would be subject to full embargo and sanctions.
