The United States has decided to temporarily waive sanctions on Iranian oil funds abroad but without returning Tehran’s access to its bank accounts in Japan and South Korea. “Allowing these funds to be used to repay exporters in these jurisdictions will make those entities whole with respect to the goods and services they exported to Iran, address a recurring irritant in important bilateral relationships, and decrease Iran’s foreign reserves,” the waiver, which the Department of State presented to Congress, said, as quoted by Iran’s Mehr news agency. This means the government in Tehran will be unable to withdraw the funds but can use them to pay accounts outstanding to South Korean and Japanese exporters. In fact, the money cannot be transferred to Iran at all, the State Department said. “The secretary of state previously signed a waiver to allow funds held in restricted Iranian accounts in Japan and Korea […]