White House says funds to help release US citizens in Iran will be held in supervised account

White House says funds to help release US citizens in Iran will be held in supervised account

White House national security spokesman John Kirby says Iranian funds to help secure the release of five US citizens will be held in a supervised account in Qatar.

Tehran will have to submit requests in order to draw funds to be used strictly for humanitarian purposes.

"The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of these funds, not the regime," he says, adding that the goal was to repatriate Americans unjustifiably detained in Iran.