Blinken says no sanctions relief for Iran under prisoner deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press alongside Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Barcena (out of frame) in the Treaty Room at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on August 10, 2023. (AFP)

• US in contact with families of five Americans freed from prison, Blinken says
• The US state secretary says he is not aware of other Americans held in Iran

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the United States would offer no sanctions relief to Iran under a draft deal that would free five Americans.

“In any event, in any respect, Iran will not be receiving any sanctions relief,” Blinken told reporters when asked about the expected release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

“Iran’s own funds would be used and transferred to restricted accounts such that the monies can only be used for humanitarian purposes,” he said.

Blinken said that the United States has been in contact with the families of five Americans freed from prison to house arrest in an expected first step to their release.

“My belief is that this is the beginning of the end of their nightmare, and the nightmare that their families have experienced,” he said.

Blinken said he was not aware of other Americans held in Iran.