Tehran says US to unfreeze parts of Iranian assets

Billions of dollars of Iran's frozen assets because of the US sanctions will be released soon.

The announcement came online by Iran's semi-official news agency Nournews on October 1, shortly after Tehran allowed an Iranian-American businessman out of prison on a one-week furlough according to Reuters.

A regional country has mediated between Iran and the United States for the "simultaneous release of prisoners".

"In recent weeks, intensive talks, with the mediation of a regional country were held for the release of Iranian and American prisoners," the agency said, not specifying which country was the mediator.

Iran said in August it was ready to swap prisoners with the United States after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted that "Siamak Namazi had now spent 2,500 days wrongfully detained" in Iran and Washington was determined to secure the freedom of all Americans held by its Middle East adversary.

Tehran has sought the release of over a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian-American dual nationals, two Iranians with permanent US residency and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States.