US banks discussing ways to return Iranian assets

Informed sources report that some unnamed US banks have begun to discuss how to return the more than $3.5 billion in frozen Iranian accounts in branch offices overseas. Since President Carter froze Iranian assets in November 1979, US banks have been allowed to use the deposits to offset any outstanding Iranian loans.

Meanwhile, Iran's representatives are contacting banks, corporations, and other US institutions known to have Iranian assets to discover which are covered by their legal claims. Iranian officials are also inquiring about how US banks could transfer funds from European branch es to Algerian banks.