The U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement to free five American detainees in exchange for imprisoned Iranians and to unlock around $6 billion of Iranian oil revenues. This agreement, reached after more than two years of behind-the-scenes negotiations, paves the way for the release of Iranian assets frozen in two South Korean banks since 2019. The freeze came into effect when Washington halted waivers for Iranian oil imports to South Korea and several other nations.

White House National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby indicated that the asset release is not expectedto affect the exchange rate