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The most complex provisions involve the Iranian assets frozen by Carter at the beginning of the hostage crisis and estimated by the U.S. to total about $12 billion. They include: $2.4 billion in gold, securities and cash, which was under the direct control of the U.S. Government; $5.5 billion in overseas branches of U.S. banks; and $4 billion held by U.S. banks and companies that had been tied up in suits against Iran by U.S. firms and individuals. Carter signed an order requiring the Justice Department to ask the courts to dismiss these suits and let the claims be judged by the arbitration panel. The U.S. also agreed not to seek compensation from Iran for damages to the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and to prohibit the hostages from suing Iran. Actually, under the technical terms of the deal, once the hostages were freed, Iran immediately received only $2.8 billion in cash and gold (see ECONOMY & BUSINESS).
Those arrangements and the safe release of the hostages were cited by Carter's closest aides as a "vindication" of his yearlong hostage policy. They were incensed when they heard some of the new Reagan officials question the agreement's soundness. One Reagan aide claimed that the new President would not have made a similar deal. Asked if Carter had given away too much, the official replied: "Yes. The initial mistake made by Carter was to say that the U.S. would not negotiate with barbarians and then promptly proceed to negotiate with them. That was wrong. This Administration will not negotiate with barbarians or terrorists."
But freedom for the hostages, not partisan fingerpointing, was on Carter's mind as he sweated out his final two days in the Oval Office. After napping on a sofa for only 45 minutes Sunday night, he appeared in the White House press room at 4:56 a.m. Monday, his face drawn and devoid of emotion, to announce: "We have now reached an agreement with Iran that will result, I believe, in the freedom of our American hostages."
At 9:20 a.m. Reagan phoned Carter with a gracious offer: if Carter was no longer President when the hostages reached West Germany, Reagan wanted him to greet them there on behalf of the U.S. Carter was grateful, but thought he could make the trip before he and Rosalynn were to entertain the Reagans at the traditional preInauguration coffee pour on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at the White House. By 2 p.m. on Monday, Carter knew that his time had run out. He called Reagan to accept the invitation.