The United States and Qatar are working to make billions of dollars in frozen funds available to Iran for humanitarian spending, according to individuals familiar with the matter. The arrangement would allow Iran to access $6 billion currently held in Qatar for purchases of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods.

The purchases would be made by Iran's central bank with cash from oil sales frozen overseas by sanctions. In 2023, the U.S. issued a waiver under the Biden administration allowing $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue to be transferred from South Korea to Qatar for humanitarian goods. The funds were frozen after the October 7th massacre.

A U.S. official said the funds will remain available as long as Iran participates in negotiations. The U.S. has pledged to make Iran's frozen assets fully available for use. The current plan may become a precedent for releasing more Iranian funds, including a pool of $24 billion frozen that Tehran wants released immediately.

Iran's frozen assets are currently locked up by sanctions in countries including China, India, Iraq, and Qatar. Negotiations over funds frozen in Qatar began in late May. Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf led a delegation to Doha to discuss plans. Iran has not yet agreed to this framework. The framework has been added to the list of matters to be discussed in future talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the nature of these funds, stating, "We have taken their money; it isn't our money, it is their money, and we froze it. At a certain point in time, I guess we're going to have to give it back."