Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A senior Iranian nuclear official says Iran will get the next tranche of its blocked funds.

The Director General for Political and International Affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry,Hamid Ba'eedinejad said on April 11 Iran will receive next week the fifth installment of the $4.2-billion frozen funds it was promised following the implementation of interim nuclear deal with six world powers.

"As of today, four out of the eight installments of our country's frozen assets have been released, and (Iran's) unlocked assets will add up to $2.65 billion after the fifth tranche is released next week," Ba'eedinejad said, Press TV reported.

Iran and the six world powers -- the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany -- reached an interim deal on November 24, 2013 in Geneva to set the stage for the full settlement of the dispute over Iran's nuclear energy program.

Under the deal, which took effect on January 20, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.

Ba'eedinejad heads Iran's expert-level team at the nuclear negotiations with the six world powers.

He further said the Central Bank of Iran can use the unfrozen assets to purchase foreign currencies, gold and other commodities that do not violate the sanctions against Tehran, stressing that efforts are underway in this regard.

Ba'eedinejad noted that Iran's accounts have been fully activated in designated Japanese and Swiss banks, and basic commodities as well as medicine and agricultural products are being ordered using the assets frozen in Western banks.

He also added that the necessary permits for the overhaul of the engines of Iran's commercial airliners have been prepared, and the engines will soon be dispatched to overhaul centers in Europe.

Aerospace giant Boeing has recently been granted permission by the U.S. Treasury Department to sell plane parts to Iran.

Boeing said the license was granted as part of the sanctions relief granted to Iran under the Geneva nuclear deal. It stated that the license covered the export of certain spare parts for commercial Boeing airplanes sold to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and did not allow sales of new aircraft to the country.