The United States has indicated it would oversee how Iran allocates funds that could be released under the initial peace agreement signed by President Donald Trump last week to halt the Middle East conflict.
The White House has said that a significant portion of the funds could flow back into the U.S. economy through Iranian purchases of American agricultural products, including soybeans, wheat and other commodities.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Iranian funds — frozen for years under sanctions related to Tehran’s nuclear program and security concerns — are expected to be released from Qatar, with U.S. Treasury officials in Doha overseeing their allocation.
🚨 NOW: Sec. Scott Bessent reveals US Treasury will FORCE any released Iranian assets into buying American food and medicine to benefit the Iranian people
“We will be recycling the money BACK into US products!” 🔥
“US Treasury will have people sitting in Doha OVERSEEING how the… pic.twitter.com/lAyNBv4PV4
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 24, 2026
“A very large percentage of it will go to buy U.S. foodstuffs and medicines,” Bessent said during an appearance on CNBC‘s “Squawk Box.”
Bessent did not provide details on how such oversight would work, but his remarks suggested the United States could establish a mechanism governing the use of the funds as making additional funds available to Iran has long been politically sensitive in U.S.-Iran relations.
Trump, who signed the agreement electronically during the G7 summit in France, and Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation in the first round of follow-up negotiations in Switzerland, have promoted the deal as beneficial to American interests.
The agreement has drawn criticism from some Republican allies of Trump as well as Democratic lawmakers, who argue that it grants significant concessions to Tehran while providing insufficient benefits to the United States, particularly the lack of commitment regarding Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
The financial aspects of the agreement have become one of its most contentious elements. Some critics have cited figures as high as $300 billion when discussing the potential economic benefits to Iran. However, publicly available estimates of Iranian assets frozen abroad vary considerably, and analysts have cautioned that some of the higher figures may conflate frozen assets with separate investment, reconstruction and trade-related initiatives associated with the broader peace framework.
U.S. officials have not publicly endorsed the larger estimates and have maintained that any release of Iranian funds would be phased and contingent on compliance with the agreement.
The debate over frozen Iranian assets reflects broader disagreements about how to balance diplomacy and economic pressure in dealing with Tehran. Critics argue that easing restrictions before key disputes over Iran’s nuclear activities and regional policies are fully resolved could reduce Western leverage.
Supporters of the agreement counter that structured access to the funds can serve as an incentive for compliance while helping to sustain a diplomatic process aimed at preventing renewed conflict. The issue has acquired additional political significance in Washington because of its implications for sanctions policy, regional security and U.S. relations with key Middle Eastern allies.
The agreement has also drawn criticism in Israel and among some pro-Israel groups in the United States. Opponents contend that the framework marks a significant shift from years of U.S.-led efforts to economically isolate Iran and fear that sanctions relief and access to frozen assets could strengthen Tehran before all security concerns are resolved. Supporters of the accord argue that a negotiated settlement accompanied by monitoring and verification mechanisms offers a more durable path to regional stability than continued confrontation.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have disputed some of Trump’s assertions, including claims that a new round of talks secured Tehran’s commitment to allow international nuclear inspectors to return after an absence of several years.
Under the initial agreement, known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the United States waived sanctions on Iranian oil trade. The accord was named after Pakistan’s capital in recognition of the country’s mediation efforts during the negotiations.
The agreement gives the United States and Iran 60 days to address outstanding issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, with the goal of negotiating a final peace settlement.
The Trump administration has said that Iran must fulfill its commitments under the Islamabad MoU before gaining access to frozen funds and benefiting from sanctions relief related to oil exports.
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as a correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
