Trump administration considers unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets — after lambasting Obama for a similar move
The Trump administration is considering unfreezing $20 billion in assets in Iran as part of ongoing negotiations with Tehran, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
Officials hope a broader agreement to end the war will be finalized as early as this weekend, but some areas of disagreement remain, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
The idea that Iran would benefit financially will likely cause some consternation among conservative hawks; President Donald Trump repeatedly berated former President Barack Obama 2016 regulation This included the delivery of $400 million in cash to Iran on the same day Iran released four American prisoners and officially implemented the nuclear deal.
Top Pakistani negotiators, who have been in close contact with senior Trump officials in recent days, including the country’s field chief Asim Munir, entered their third day of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Friday. The Trump administration is hopeful that if these talks are successful and the Pakistanis can bring the Iranians to a significant compromise, then a potential second round of face-to-face talks between U.S. and Iranian officials to reach an agreement could be held in Islamabad this weekend.
Sources said that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which Trump announced on Thursday, had a positive impact on the negotiations. Iran also announced Friday morning that it would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources said the main sticking points in the talks centered on the length of time Iran would agree to suspend uranium enrichment and discussions about taking back nuclear materials still in Tehran’s possession.
One offer involves unfreezing assets in exchange for Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran has demanded a major easing of sanctions and an unfreezing of assets worth north of $20 billion, according to a familiar source. The discussions are still ongoing and unresolved.
Axios first reported that freezing $20 billion in assets in Iran was under consideration.
“Productive discussions with Iran continue, but we will not negotiate through the press,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
One Phone interview with News Nation FridayTrump said he agreed to “everything,” including Iran stopping uranium enrichment. In that morning’s Truth Social post, Trump said the United States would “dust” Iran’s nuclear power and that no money would “change hands” under any peace deal that would end the war.
“No money will change hands in any way, shape or form,” he wrote.
This was one of a series of posts Trump made on social media Friday morning. He also touted the open strait, vowing to continue the US blockade of Iranian ports, saying Tehran had agreed to “never close the Strait of Hormuz again” and adding that the US and Iran had removed all mines from the critical waterway. He also said he received a call from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asking if he needed help with the strait and “TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY.”
The exchanges came as the president received regular updates from Pakistani mediators on the progress of negotiations in Tehran, a US official told CNN.
On Thursday, Trump floated the possibility of personally traveling to Pakistan if a deal goes through. Earlier this week, a US official told CNN that Trump had privately expressed interest in traveling abroad to sign a peace agreement.
However, it remains unclear whether negotiations have progressed sufficiently for this to happen. Significant questions remain about the logistics of such a trip, including the high security risks of the US president traveling to the region amid the ongoing war, raising uncertainty about whether such a trip would be possible, the sources said.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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