Trump Administration Considers Unfreezing $20 Billion In Iranian Assets As Talks With Tehran Continue

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 cited by CNN.

“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”

CNN

CNN reports that officials are hoping a broader deal to end the war could be finalized as early as this weekend, though “some areas of disagreement remain,” the sources told the network.

CNN

The same CNN reporting says the idea of Iran benefitting financially is likely to cause “consternation among conservative hawks,” because President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized former President Barack Obama over a 2016 arrangement that involved a $400 million cash delivery to Iran the same day the country released four American prisoners and formally implemented a nuclear deal.

CNN also reports that lead Pakistani mediators, including Asim Munir, entered their third day of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Friday.

The Trump administration is hopeful that if those talks are successful, a potential second round of in-person talks between US and Iranian officials could take place in Islamabad as soon as this weekend.

CNN further ties the diplomatic momentum to the “10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, announced by Trump on Thursday,” which the sources said has had a positive effect on the negotiations.

Iran also announced Friday morning that it would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump later said the blockade of Iran’s ports would continue.

CNN says key sticking points center on “the length of time Iran would agree to for a suspension of its enrichment of uranium,” and discussions over retrieving nuclear materials still in Tehran’s possession.

CNN says one proposal under discussion includes unfreezing assets in exchange for Iran turning over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while another source cited by CNN Arabic and other outlets says Iran has asked for major sanctions relief and unfreezing of assets north of the $20 billion figure.

CNN reports that the discussions are still ongoing and haven’t been resolved, with the key sticking points described as the duration of any uranium enrichment suspension and the handling of nuclear materials still in Tehran’s possession.

CNN Arabic

In CNN’s account, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, “Productive conversations with Iran continue, but we will not negotiate via the press,” and the network reports that Trump made similar remarks in a call with News Nation.

CNN also reports that Trump said in a Truth Social post that morning that the US will get Iran’s nuclear “dust” and that no money would “exchange hands” as part of any peace deal to end the war.

The CNN story quotes Trump writing, “No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” and it says the posts happened as the president received regular updates on the progress of talks in Tehran from Pakistani mediators.

CNN further reports that Trump touted the open strait, promised to continue the US blockade of Iranian ports, said Tehran had agreed to “never close the Strait of Hormuz again” and added that the US and Iran are removing all the mines in the critical waterway.

CNN’s reporting also says Trump received a call from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asking if he needed help with the strait, and that he “TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY.”

The CNN Arabic version of the reporting likewise states that the main sticking points revolve around “the duration Iran would agree to suspend uranium enrichment” and discussions about “recovering nuclear material still in Tehran’s possession,” and it includes Anna Kelley’s quote that “we will not negotiate through the press.”

Beyond the asset question, CNN reports that Pakistani mediators have been in close contact with top Trump officials in recent days, including Asim Munir, and that they entered their third day of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran on Friday.

“Top US and Iranian envoys hold delicate talks in Tehran and Islamabad”

mezha.net

CNN says the Trump administration is hopeful that if those talks are successful and the Pakistanis can get the Iranians to a place of significant compromise, then a potential second round of in-person talks between US and Iranian officials could take place in Islamabad as soon as this weekend.

CNN also reports that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, announced by Trump on Thursday, has had a positive effect on the negotiations, according to the sources.

The CNN Arabic version similarly states that the second direct round could be held in Islamabad as soon as possible during this weekend, and it repeats that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon announced by Trump on Thursday has positively affected the negotiations.

CNN Arabic also says Iran announced it would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump subsequently said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue.

In CNN’s account, Trump on Thursday floated the possibility of traveling to Pakistan himself if a deal were to materialize, and it says earlier this week a US official told CNN that Trump privately expressed interest in traveling abroad to sign a peace agreement.

CNN adds that it remains unclear whether negotiations have progressed enough for that to happen, and it highlights “major questions over the logistics of such a trip,” including “the high security risks of the US president traveling to the region amid the ongoing war.”

The mezha.net local Western article echoes the same structure, saying that “a weekend breakthrough could hinge on asset releases and uranium concessions” and that a second in-person meeting between American and Iranian officials could take place in Islamabad by this weekend.

Other reporting in the source set shifts attention from the weekend prospect to a prior negotiation cadence, describing indirect talks and a Geneva timeline.

Tabnak says that “the second round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States ended on Tuesday afternoon in Geneva,” and that the parties agreed to work on the texts of a possible agreement and to prepare for another date to hold the third round of negotiations.

Tabnak

Tabnak also cites ABCI News, which it says reported on Wednesday that “The United States is considering lifting financial and banking sanctions and a ban on oil sales against Iran.”

In the same Tabnak account, ABCI News is also quoted as saying that “There has been progress in the Iran–U.S. talks, but there are still many details to discuss,” and that Iranian officials said that “within the next two weeks they will return with detailed proposals to address some of the gaps in our positions.”

Tabnak further includes a claim attributed to ABCI News that “Iran has shown willingness to suspend nuclear enrichment for a defined period—for example, one, three, or five years,” while also noting that it remains unclear whether negotiators discussed this topic during the indirect talks.

Tabnak says that after the end of this round of indirect talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, “There was a more constructive atmosphere in this round, and various ideas were raised that were seriously discussed.”

The CNN-based reporting in the earlier sections does not provide this Geneva Tuesday timeline, but it does describe the current negotiations as involving Pakistani mediators and potential in-person rounds in Tehran and Islamabad.

Together, the sources show a negotiation process that includes both indirect talks and the possibility of later direct meetings, with the sticking points repeatedly tied to uranium enrichment duration and nuclear materials.

A separate West Asian analysis in the source set lays out a longer arc of obstacles that it says prevented a Tehran–Washington agreement and that would need to be addressed to restart negotiations.

“The Trump administration is studying lifting the freeze on $20 billion of Iranian assets as part of the ongoing negotiations with Tehran, according to two people familiar with the discussions”

Ahl Misr

The فرارو report says the challenges must be traced to four factors: “the dysfunctional cycle of coercion from the United States and confrontation from Iran,” “Washington’s preference for direct and comprehensive dialogue and Tehran’s tendency toward indirect and temporary talks,” “Washington’s maximalist approach to the level of enrichment and Iran’s uranium reserves,” and “the influence and interference of Israel and Congress.”

Ahl Misr

It attributes the analysis to Erik Lob, described as “a university professor and researcher in the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,” and it says he argued that addressing these is “a prerequisite for restarting negotiations if the parties wish.”

The same report provides a detailed escalation timeline, stating that between April and May 2025 the United States and Iran were engaged in five rounds of nuclear talks and that a sixth was planned for mid-June.

It says that two days before that round was to take place, on June 13, “Israel, with US assistance, attacked Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure and other targets,” and that nine days later “the United States directly intervened” and attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.

The report says Tehran retaliated by striking Israeli bases with drones and missiles during the war, and it claims that in Israel “Iran’s drones and missiles, despite Israel’s advanced air defenses, struck bases, killing at least 28 people, wounding more than 3,000, and displacing many more.”

It also asserts that in Iran, Israeli attacks killed several nuclear scientists and a senior military commander, and “also 1,190 others; 4,475 were wounded and tens of thousands displaced.”

The report then says that on June 24, after Tehran hit a U.S. air base in Qatar with missiles, Washington brokered a ceasefire, and it concludes that the parties “will have to address these four factors in order to reach a diplomatic agreement and avoid another war.”