Donald Trump said he will not unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets before a lasting ceasefire agreement, keeping the money tied to the wider US-Iran war talks. iran international heard the president make the case in an NBC News Meet the Press interview that aired on Sunday.
Trump said any release would come only after a deal is reached, adding: “If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking,” and, “We’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them.”
Trump ties funds to agreement
The pledge leaves Iran’s frozen assets as bargaining leverage at a moment when Iranian officials have repeatedly signaled that any deal could depend on at least partial access to those funds. Iran is believed to have more than $100bn frozen in bank accounts across the world because of sanctions by the United States and other countries.
Iranian state media has reported that Tehran is seeking between $12bn and $24bn in frozen funds as part of a ceasefire deal. The same reporting said one plan would release half of the funds when an agreement is signed and the rest later, a structure that shows the money is being treated as a test of trust rather than a side issue.
Rezaee calls deadlock
Mohsen Rezaee, a military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on on Saturday that “negotiations are at a deadlock” and urged Trump to break the impasse. Rezaee’s comments make clear that the question of frozen assets sits inside a wider argument over whether Washington and Tehran can turn a pause in fighting into a durable deal.
Trump also said he would be willing to speak with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018, and the United States has twice launched military operations against Iran amid ongoing talks on its nuclear programme.
Paused fighting since April 8
Fighting has been largely paused since April 8, although both sides have periodically exchanged strikes. The frozen assets dispute now runs alongside the broader ceasefire and nuclear discussions, with Iran’s side pressing for money up front and Trump saying the release comes only after compliance with a deal.
That leaves the next move with the negotiators: whether Tehran will accept a ceasefire framework that postpones the cash, or whether the frozen funds remain the obstacle that keeps the talks from closing.
