From enemies to frenemies

It is not much in headlines, but it is in the making. Iran and the US have reached an understanding, paving the way for the release of US and Iranian prisoners held by Tehran and Washington, respectively, releasing frozen Iranian funds lying in South Korea and “other countries”, and the US is turning a blind eye to the growing Iranian oil exports. The process has been quiet, lengthy, away from the galore of media and painstakingly slow. Yet has yielded results, carrying a profound impact on global crude dynamics and geopolitics. The agreement secures the freedom of five imprisoned American nationals in exchange for several jailed Iranians and releases about $6 billion of frozen Iranian crude sales revenue in South Korea. The exact figure to be released under the agreement could be even larger. Iran International, quoting media reports, suggested that as per the agreement, not only $6bn of Iranian crude sale funds frozen in South Korean banks would be released, but funds frozen in Iraq (estimated between $11-12bn) and over $3bn lying with Japanese banks will also be released.