The United States says it has come up with a spending plan for unfrozen Iranian assets, as negotiations to reach a final deal to end the war in the Middle East continue.President Donald Trump’s administration insists that the unfrozen money will be used to buy US agricultural products, which will then be provided to Iran.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listUltimately, that could translate into a $12 billion shot in the arm for the currently heavily restricted bilateral trade between the US and Iran, which is largely confined to humanitarian goods.From being close trading partners to arch rivals over the past five decades, the US-Iran relationship has all but petered out.However outlandish the idea may seem, can Trump restore trade ties with Tehran? Iran’s Speaker of Parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf (L), and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi (C), at the Burgenstock talks in Switzerland, 21 June 2026 [Urs Flueeler/EPA]What is happening to Iran’s frozen assets?As is the case with many things in the US-Iran negotiations, the two sides do not appear fully aligned on what has been agreed so far.After the first round of talks in Switzerland on Monday, following the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) last week, Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, said an agreement had been reached to release $12bn in frozen Iranian funds.But US Vice President JD Vance said if Iranian assets are unfrozen, they will be used by Iran to buy US agricultural products. “They’re going to go to make American farmers richer and feed the Iranian people,” he said. Advertisement President Trump added: “We’re doing very well in terms of negotiating a fair and reas …
