In its negotiations with the US on ending the war, Iran isn't budging on what it wants first: access to billions of dollars in its own cash locked up overseas. Iranian officials say serious talks can't start until a chunk of roughly $24 billion in frozen assets is released. State media in Iran report that Tehran is pressing for about $12 billion, some of it held in Qatar, which is helping mediate and hosted talks with Iranian officials this week. The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Wednesday there has been progress on a partial release but no final deal, the New York Times reports.
The Trump administration is signaling it wants a commitment from Iran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium first. A senior US official told reporters that unfrozen funds could be part of a later deal, but only after Tehran moves on its nuclear program. On Wednesday, President Trump said the US would keep control of the money until Iran "behave[s] properly" and "do[es] what's right." The money fight cuts straight into US sanctions policy and Trump's political branding. He has long attacked Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear deal and the 2016 transfer of $1.7 billion to settle an old financial claim. Analysts say there are technical ways to move some money without formally lifting sanctions, such as channeling payments directly to foreign exporters for food and medicine, as was done in a 2023 hostage deal.
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