Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, told House Democrats on Thursday that Iran would no longer have access to the funds, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The move comes after harsh criticism, mainly from Republicans, that the Biden administration had given Iran a vast sum that freed up other funds for Tehran to provide support to Hamas before it attacked Israel over the weekend.
The Treasury Department, which oversees the funds, is not employing sanctions powers to formally freeze the money but has what was described as a quiet understanding with Qatar that Iran will be unable to retrieve it.
Under the terms of the prisoner deal last month, the money was transferred from South Korean banks, where it accumulated as Seoul purchased Iranian oil under an agreement with the Trump administration, which choked off most of Iran’s energy exports.
In recent months Mr. Biden has tried to de-escalate tensions with Tehran after efforts to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which President Donald J. Trump withdrew, came up short.
But Republicans accused Mr. Biden of pulling punches and have cast the $6 billion transfer as a lifeline to Iran’s anti-American government, however the money was restricted.
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