The Trump administration is considering unfreezing $20 billion in Iranian assets as part of ongoing negotiations with Tehran, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
Officials are hoping a comprehensive agreement to end the war will be finalized this weekend, although some disagreements remain, sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
The idea of Iran benefiting financially is likely to cause some consternation among conservative hawks. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized former President Barack Obama over a 2016 arrangement that included a $400 million cash delivery to Iran on the day Iran released four American prisoners and formally implemented the nuclear deal.
Key Pakistani mediators who have been in close contact with top Trump officials in recent days, including the country’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, entered a third day of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Friday. The Trump administration is hopeful that if those talks are successful, and the Pakistanis can get the Iranians to reach a significant compromise, a possible second round of in-person talks between U.S. and Iranian officials could take place later this week in Islamabad.
Sources said that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon announced by Trump on Thursday had a positive effect on the talks. Iran also announced the full opening of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday morning.
Key points at the talks center on the length of time Iran will agree to suspend its uranium enrichment, as well as discussing recovering nuclear material in Tehran’s possession, the sources said.
One proposal involves destabilizing assets in exchange for Iran returning its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran has asked for major sanctions relief and the unfreezing of assets north of $20 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter. Discussions are ongoing and have not been resolved.
Axios said for the first time that it was considering a $20 billion freeze on Iranian assets.
“We continue to have fruitful discussions with Iran, but we do not negotiate through the press,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
In a conversation with News Nation on Friday, Trump said he had agreed to everything, including Iran’s halting of uranium enrichment. In a Truth Social post that morning, Trump said the US would get Iran’s nuclear “dust” and that no money would “exchange hands” as part of any peace deal to end the war.
“No money exchanges hands in any way, shape or form,” he wrote.
It was one of several posts Trump made on social media Friday morning. He also emphasized an 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 were removing all mines along the critical waterway. He also said he received a call from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asking if he needed help in the strait, and he “told them to stay away.”
The posts came as the president received regular updates on the progress of talks in Tehran from Pakistani mediators, a US official told CNN.
Trump on Thursday expressed the possibility of visiting Pakistan himself if the agreement is implemented. Earlier this week, a US official told CNN that Trump had expressed interest in traveling abroad to privately sign the peace deal.
However, it remains unclear whether the talks have made enough progress to do so. And major questions remain over the logistics of such a trip, including the high security risk of a U.S. president traveling to the region amid an ongoing war — adding to uncertainty about whether such a trip would be possible, the sources said.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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