Iranian officials suggested that releasing the funds would build the “confidence” needed to reach a lasting agreement to end the war.
US President Donald Trump has said he will not unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets until a permanent ceasefire agreement is reached to formally end the US-Israel war with Iran.
President Trump made the remarks in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, suggesting there is little room for a standoff over the frozen funds to persist.
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The US president said the unfreezing of Iranian assets would come “after” a deal is reached.
“If they behave and do a good job, we start talking,” he said.
Iranian officials have repeatedly suggested that any deal could be conditional on at least a partial unfreezing of Tehran’s frozen assets, citing widespread distrust of U.S. negotiations.
The United States has twice launched military operations against Iran amid ongoing negotiations over its nuclear program, a fact many analysts say has alarmed Iranian officials in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
President Trump has said for weeks that a breakthrough is within reach, with little sign of major change on key issues such as the future control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and asset freezes.
Amid the diplomatic turmoil, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran. He continued this approach in an interview with NBC filmed in a barn during the president’s visit to Wisconsin on Friday.
“We’re very close to a deal. If we don’t, I’m going to tear it down from the ground up,” Trump said.
Mohsen Rezaee, a military advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, gave a different explanation in an interview with CNN on Saturday, saying, “Negotiations have reached a deadlock.”
He called on President Trump to break the deadlock.
frozen assets
Iran is estimated to have more than $100 billion in bank accounts around the world frozen due to sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries.
Iran is supposed to receive at least gradual access to these assets under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which saw Iran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
Iran is currently seeking between $12 billion and $24 billion in frozen funds as part of the cease-fire agreement, with plans to release half of the funds upon signing the deal and the other half at a later stage, according to Iranian state media reports.
Rezaee described the release as a “test of trust.”
In an interview with NBC, President Trump said he was open to talks with Ali Khamenei, who succeeded his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed shortly after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.
Fighting has largely ceased since April 8, but both sides regularly exchange attacks.
President Trump said of Khamenei, “I don’t want to say whether I know where he is, but there’s a high possibility that he does.” Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was injured in a US military attack early in the conflict.
President Trump also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon join the ceasefire agreement.
Continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s Hezbollah, attacks opposed by Iran, continue to threaten to derail negotiations.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf on Sunday warned that Iran could retaliate in response to Israel’s attack on southern Beirut and the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
