Word: iranian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Once the Iranian parliament set the terms for freeing the 52 American hostages, a major question loomed in the minds of bankers and businessmen around the world. How, exactly, will President Carter be able to meet the Khomeini government's demand that he unfreeze $8 billion in official Iranian assets that were blocked last November in U.S. banks and overseas branches? Insisted one top Treasury Department policymaker: "We're sure as hell not going to let a couple of courtrooms stand in the way of releasing those Americans." Nonetheless...
...number of factors could cause a delay. After the Iranian deposits were frozen almost a year ago, many big banks followed the lead of Chase Manhattan and used their Iranian deposits to offset loans made to the late Shah of Iran that had gone into default. More troublesome, though, are the claims by insurance companies, computer software firms, construction outfits, airlines and private individuals against the Iranian funds. Said one New York banker last week: "They were lined up around the block as if to see an X-rated movie...
Michael Mealey, an enterprising Pennsylvanian, now edits a newsletter, Iranian Assets Litigation Reporter, that tells about the latest legal skirmishes and costs $1,800 a year...
There is now some dispute over exactly how much in Iranian funds is frozen. Treasury Department officials, who are charged with keeping score, concede that the tally may now be closer to $11 billion than $8 billion. The 1.6 million oz. of Iranian gold on deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for example, was valued at about $600 million in November 1979, but it is now worth more than $1 billion because of higher gold prices. Meanwhile, interest has been accruing on the $5 billion worth of Iranian deposits in U.S. banks...
...National Security Council and the State Department are considering different ways to return as much money to Tehran as quickly as possible, but no final decisions have yet been reached. The gold and an extra $1.3 billion that the Iranians have invested in U.S. Government securities could be shifted quickly into an Iranian account. Even the $ 1.5 billion that private banks have seized to offset their Iranian loans could probably be pried loose with the cooperation of international bankers. There would probably be an understanding that the Iranians would accelerate the settlement of the old loans. So far, the Khomeini...