The US government will attempt to redirect Iranian assets to Gulf states for rebuilding and repairs of future damage caused by Iran, a source familiar with the matter said on Saturday, a day after a wave of attacks by Iran against Kuwait and Bahrain.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also directed a team to assess costs for damage already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran, the source said, adding that the US will consider using Iranian assets for those repairs as well.
The disclosure came a day after Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told CNN that a peace deal hinged on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen by the United States.
The source on Saturday did not specify what kind of assets the Treasury was examining. The language used to describe the new measures did not appear limited to frozen assets.
Peace negotiations appear to have stalled, although a minister from mediator Pakistan traveled to Tehran on Saturday with a letter for Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
The threatened redirection of Iranian assets could create a new irritant to a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which was tested again this weekend with strikes by the US and Iran.
IRGC retaliated against US in Kuwait and Bahrain
US forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, both in the Strait of Hormuz, early Saturday after shooting down drones launched by Iran that US Central Command says posed a threat to maritime traffic.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it retaliated against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and Kuwait's army said on Saturday it engaged seven ballistic missiles that passed over residential areas, resulting in material damage but no casualties.
In Bahrain, sirens sounded, and residents were urged to seek shelter. Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the strikes.