WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24 (ANI) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that a significant portion of any unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to purchase American food and medicine, despite statements from Iranian officials rejecting such conditions.
Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said any funds released to Iran would be directed toward benefiting the Iranian people.
“Any money that the Iranians get is going to be used, first, for the benefit of the Iranian people,” Bessent said.
He added that the Treasury Department would oversee the allocation of the funds, likely through a mechanism involving Qatar.
“A very large percentage of it will go to buy U.S. foodstuffs and medicine,” Bessent said. “So we will be recycling the money back into U.S. products.”
The remarks come as Washington and Tehran continue discussions over a financial framework that could include the release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets and a temporary suspension of certain sanctions on Iranian oil exports, according to Iranian state media reports.
Providing the U.S. administration’s perspective, Vice President JD Vance said Iranian assets had not yet been unfrozen under the proposed arrangement. He emphasized that if funds are eventually released, they would not be permitted to support terrorism and could instead be used to purchase U.S. goods, including agricultural products such as soybeans.
Vance said Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, along with Qatari officials involved in mediating discussions, had developed a mechanism to ensure the funds are not misused.
“If there is any frozen Iranian asset that is unfrozen, then we have approval over that process; the Qataris have approval over that process,” Vance said.
However, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, strongly rejected the assertion that other countries would have authority over how Iran uses its assets.
“Iran is the only country that will decide what to do with its assets, which are going to be defrozen,” Bahreini told reporters in Geneva.
He added, “I reject any claim that there would be any role for any other country to have an influence on those decisions or on those processes.”
Bahreini, who participated in diplomatic discussions at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland, said Iran has long faced asset freezes and extensive sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The issue of frozen assets remains a central component of the memorandum of understanding signed between Tehran and Washington, which established a 60-day negotiating period to address broader concerns, including Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief.
While Bahreini said Iran’s blocked assets could be unfrozen “very soon,” he acknowledged that the United States and Qatar would play a role in facilitating the technical aspects of the process.
“There are some technical arrangements which should be made by the United States and by Qatar, because the assets have been frozen by the United States, and at least some parts of those assets are in Qatar,” he said.
“Definitely there is a role for them, but that role is limited to these technical aspects of defreezing of assets.”
Bahreini stressed that decisions regarding the use of the funds would remain solely under Iran’s control.
“Certainly, Iran does not allow them to have further influence on the other processes. That is something Iran and only Iran will decide,” he said. (ANI)
About The Author
