Discussing a U.S. waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran via third-party banks for energy imports, a U.S. diplomatic spokesperson confirmed that “Oman has indicated a willingness to receive a portion of these funds, and we expect that to happen… We thought it was important to get this money out of Iraq, because it is a source of leverage that Iran uses against its neighbor”. He further highlighted that the funds would “still be subject to the same restrictions as when the money was held in accounts in Iraq, meaning that the money can only be used for non-sanctionable activities such as humanitarian assistance, and that all the transactions need to be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department in advance”.