ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejected reports Saturday that it transferred $3 billion to Tehran, dismissing claims circulated by international news outlets as “entirely false.”
The Emirati foreign ministry stated the country “has categorically denied reports published by certain international media outlets alleging the transfer of funds from the UAE to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including allegations concerning USD 3 billion.”
The ministry affirmed in its statement the “allegations are entirely false and unfounded,’ stressing that “no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred, or facilitated through the UAE.”
The statement came after the London-based news agency Reuters reported on Friday that one of their sources with knowledge of the arrangement said “a first tranche of $3 billion had already been made available” by the UAE.
The news comes as US and Iranian officials have increasingly signaled that they are nearing completion of an Islamabad-mediated Memorandum of Understanding intended to pave the way for a permanent peace agreement following the six-week war between the US, Israel and Iran.
Similarly, on Friday, Tehran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported a 14-point draft agreement, which was later rejected by US President Donald Trump, stating that the terms of a purported agreement published by Iranian media, insisting that they "have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing."
US officials on Friday expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached in the coming days. However, conflicting statements from both sides have cast uncertainty over the negotiations.
Iranian officials have meanwhile denied making several concessions attributed to Tehran in media reports.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.”
.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)