A senior Iranian official previously told Reuters that the United States has agreed to unfreeze Iranian financial assets held in Qatari and other banks, and that this move is directly linked to the future opening of the Strait of Hormuz. This move has been characterized by Iran as serious, with the aim of reaching an agreement with Washington during negotiations in Islamabad that began today. A second Iranian source confirmed this to Reuters, stating that it involves six billion dollars of Iranian funds that were blocked under U.S. sanctions. These funds stem from the sale of Iranian oil to South Korea and have been frozen since 2018. A U.S. official then dismissed Reuters' information, saying that Washington has not agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets. Therefore, no breakthrough in the negotiations is expected yet. Incidentally, U.S. and Iranian officials are meeting today in Islamabad for the first time since the war began, to discuss the possibility of opening the Strait of Hormuz, as well as ending the war initiated by the United States and Iran. Both sides have set conditions before the start of the negotiations. Iranian officials have clearly stated that negotiations with the United States cannot begin until key conditions are met, primarily a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The U.S. has expressed concerns about nuclear weapons and the fate of transit through the Strait of Hormuz. These funds, whose unfreezing Iran is demanding, were supposed to be returned as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran in 2023, but the Joe Biden administration refroze these assets. U.S. officials then emphasized that this money would likely never be unfrozen.