US to hold off on disbursing $6B in Iran oil revenue unfrozen in prisoner deal

The US and Qatar have agreed to deny Iran access to $6 billion in oil proceeds that Washington had previously freed up as part of a prisoner swap reached last month, according to people familiar with the matter.

The decision with Qatar, whose government is overseeing Iran’s access to the funds, comes amid concern for Tehran’s long-running provision of money, arms and intelligence to the group responsible for the terrorist attack on Israel last weekend, Hamas.

According to a preliminary unclassified assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, Tehran likely knew Hamas was planning operations against Israel but didn’t know the precise timing or scope of the surprise attack.

The funds are sitting in a restricted bank account in Qatar, and the US has struck an informal agreement with Qatar to hold off disbursing them to Iran, the people familiar with the matter said.