Iraq’s clearing of part of its debts to Iran has given rise to speculations of a US green light for direct transfers to the Iranian banking system. Such talk has gained strength by Iran’s supreme leader’s declaration that there is “nothing wrong” with a deal to resolve the crisis over the Iranian nuclear program. Indeed, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments follow the Omani Sultan’s recent visit to Tehran—a known interlocutor between Iran and the US—and a call between the presidents of France and Iran.

However, multiple Arab and Iranian sources have dismissed the issuing of a US special license for direct money transfers to Iran. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Iranian source told Amwaj.media that the Iraqi debt repayment—amounting to some 2.5B EUR—will be used for Haj expenditures and has been sent to accounts in Turkmenistan, where the funds will be used for Iranian food and medicine imports. According to the senior source, there are no plans to move any money to Iran.

Also speaking on the condition that his name be withheld, an Arab source separately elaborated that 1.5B EUR worth of frozen Iranian assets has...