Iran’s top negotiator said Tuesday that the United States has agreed to release $12bn in frozen Iranian funds, a claim that put fresh attention on a fragile diplomatic track between Washington and Tehran.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, said the agreement had been reached as part of efforts to advance a wider deal. The reported release follows a US move to temporarily ease sanctions on Iranian oil and petrochemicals until August 21.
The US Treasury said Monday it had issued a 60-day general licence covering the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran had made commitments tied to the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear inspections.
“Iran has committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz and to permit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into their country,” Bessent wrote. “As part of the framework, Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general licence authorising the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil.”
Vice President JD Vance said the talks had produced a base for further negotiations, but he stopped short of saying a final deal was complete. “We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal,” he told reporters.
The dispute over the frozen funds quickly became political. President Donald Trump said the money would be used to buy US produce, a claim Tehran rejected immediately, according to live updates from the region.
The talks follow a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed last week and a long meeting in Switzerland involving US, Iranian, Pakistani and Qatari officials. Mediators have described a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal.
But core questions remain unresolved, including nuclear oversight, sanctions relief, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and how a separate de-confliction mechanism for Lebanon would work on the ground.
For now, the deal is moving on parallel tracks: money, oil, inspections and a waterway that global energy markets are watching closely.
