&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump does a U-turn on Iranian frozen assets, says 'not our money'")
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (June 17) defended the return of frozen Iranian assets, saying that permanently withholding another country's funds could have an adverse affect on US dollar and the international financial system. Detailing the predicament in holding back the frozen assets, Trump while replying to a porters question on the matter said, "The unfreezing... we have taken a lot of their money. And we have their money. We have taken their money, it's not our money, it's their money. And we froze it. At a certain point in time, I guess we're going to have to give it back. You know, if we didn't give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again."
Elaborating further Trump said that retaining the funds could appear to be a wise decision for a while but in the long term it could hamper the credibility of the US financial system.
"I thought about it. I'm not the most perfect person. I said, 'What if we keep their money? What the hell are we giving it back to them?' But people from lots of nations, some nations we don't agree with, they have their money, the dollar's become very strong under me, and they don't want to have a little conflict with somebody and end up having the United States just take their money," Trump said.
Hormuz to reopen
Meanwhile, the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end the Middle East war will reopen the Strait of Hormuz that was blocked by Iran a few days after the war began between the two countries on February 28. The US naval blockade of the Strait will also be lifted.
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The news of the US-Iran interim agreement signing had it immediate affect as oil prices declined in early trading on Thursday, 18 June, as markets reacted to expectations of reduced tensions, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and easing of US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The deal is expected to address one of the biggest disruptions to global energy supplies in recent history. Brent crude futures fell 89 cents, or 1.12 per cent, to $78.66 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 98 cents, or 1.28 per cent, to $75.81 per barrel.
