IRAN’S president said today that $6 billion (£4.4bn) in frozen Iranian assets would be released by Qatar.

This followed an announcement late on Sunday that Iran and the US had agreed to pause mutual attacks and, according to the US, would meet to discuss their differences over the Strait of Hormuz.

President Masoud Pezeshkian offered praise for the interim deal in comments published yesterday by the IRNA news agency, calling it “a great victory for the Iranian people.”

“Based on the plans made, $6bn out of the total $12bn [£8.8bn] of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out,” he said.

Mr Pezeshkian is the highest-ranking official within Iran to reference the release of the funds held by Qatar, a key mediator along with Pakistan in the negotiations.

So far, US officials say no frozen Iranian assets have been released, and Qatar has not yet acknowledged any such transfer.

This came a day after Iran and the US reached an agreement late on Sunday to pause mutual attacks.

US media outlet Axios claimed that a meeting between Iran and the US would take place in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday to discuss their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

A US source told Axios that both sides will stand down “for now” and “vessels can move freely” as technical talks are set to continue.

But when talks would take place was thrown into confusion as Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior negotiator for Iran, denied any talks had been scheduled.

The US hit Iranian targets on Friday and Saturday, citing “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by striking US military positions across the region.

Since the signing of the MoU, the Israelis have reached a controversial US-brokered deal with Lebanon to remain in southern Lebanon.

Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed TV on Sunday that Hezbollah opposes the agreement and will work to defeat it politically and practically.

He called for an unconditional Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

A joint statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “Israeli military soldiers will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy terrorist infrastructure, remove threats from northern Israeli communities and maintain the security of Israeli citizens.”