Iran will not receive any sanctions relief as part of a deal to secure the release of five American hostages, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, despite Tehran’s impending recovery of $6 billion.

“In any instance where we would engage in such efforts to bring Americans home from Iran, Iran’s own funds would be used,” Blinken told reporters Thursday at the State Department. “We will continue to enforce all of our sanctions.”

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Iranian officials announced the transfer of five U.S. citizens into house arrest on Thursday as part of a so-called humanitarian cooperation agreement. Blinken hailed the gesture as “the beginning of the end of their nightmare,” while Iranian officials exulted at the thought of a multibillion windfall they have sought through nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations over the renewal of a 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"The process of releasing billions of dollars of Iranian assets, illegally seized by the U.S. for several years, has commenced,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani wrote Thursday on social media. “Tehran has received the guarantee of Washington's commitments. The release of several Iranians who were illegally detained in America is in this context.”

The arrangement drew sharp criticism from Republicans and other critics of Iran’s hostage taking practices.

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“I am an example that the U.S. government can release American hostages WITHOUT paying ransom,” Xiyue Wang, an American citizen and Princeton University graduate student who was seized in 2016 during a research trip to Iran, said. “Biden’s terrible deal is putting more Americans in danger.”

Blinken's team kept the focus on the plight of the five current hostages in their public statements on the deal. "We are in touch with the families of U.S. citizens involved, and we continue to monitor these individuals’ health and welfare closely," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "While we welcome the news of these individuals’ release from prison to house arrest, they should never have been imprisoned in the first place. We continue to work diligently to bring these individuals home to their loved ones. They must be allowed to depart Iran and reunite with their loved ones as soon as possible."