No Frozen Funds Released to Iran Yet, US Says Sanctions Relief Hinges on Compliance

Washington, June 2026 : Senior US officials on Monday clarified that Iran has not received any access to frozen assets or sanctions relief following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran, countering reports that the agreement had already delivered financial benefits to the Islamic Republic.

Addressing speculation surrounding the breakthrough accord, a senior US official stated unequivocally that no money had been released to Iran under the agreement.

“The answer to that is… zero,” the official said when asked whether any frozen Iranian assets had been unfrozen. “$0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States, or any other country.”

The clarification came as the Trump administration sought to explain the framework agreement signed earlier on Monday, which lays out a roadmap for future negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, and broader regional security issues.

According to US officials, the memorandum is not designed to provide Tehran with immediate economic gains. Instead, any future access to frozen assets, foreign investment, or sanctions relief will depend entirely on Iran fulfilling specific commitments that can be independently verified.

“We really do want to get to a place where we can unsanction a lot of the Iranian economy and unfreeze these assets,” a senior official said. “But it requires the Iranians to do some of the things that they’re promising to do.”

Administration officials stressed that the agreement follows a performance-based approach, under which economic incentives are directly tied to progress on nuclear verification and regional security commitments.

“We are prepared to release frozen funds, and we are prepared to relieve sanctions,” another senior official said. “But these steps will occur in phases and only after verifiable milestones are met.”

Officials underscored that Washington would not grant concessions simply for Iran’s participation in negotiations.

“The whole term we keep using is: we don’t pay for play,” a senior official remarked. The official explained that Iran’s future access to funds and broader economic opportunities would depend on demonstrating that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and is not using financial resources to support terrorism or destabilising activities in the region.

The administration also rejected suggestions that any secret arrangements or side agreements accompany the publicly announced framework.

“The MOU will be released publicly,” an official said. “One of our principles here is full transparency, and there’ll be no side deals.”

US officials strongly dismissed reports claiming that billions of dollars had already been made available to Tehran.

“It is interesting, just reporting on this, and we really don’t know where it’s coming from,” a senior official said, suggesting that elements within Iran’s hardline establishment could be circulating such claims for domestic or political purposes.

Officials argued that the agreement presents Iran with two possible paths. One would maintain existing sanctions and economic restrictions, while the other could gradually reintegrate Iran into the global economy if it accepts robust verification mechanisms ensuring that it does not rebuild its nuclear programme.

The memorandum announced Monday marks the first formal framework reached between Washington and Tehran in the latest round of negotiations. US officials said technical discussions on nuclear verification, sanctions relief, and implementation measures will continue in the coming weeks before any final agreement is considered.

The evolving diplomatic process is expected to remain under close international scrutiny as both sides work toward a broader and more comprehensive settlement.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)