Trump Says U.S. Will Unfreeze Iranian Assets Only After Peace Deal

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will unfreeze Iranian assets only after the two sides reach a peace deal, telling NBC News’s “Meet the Press” that “If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking” about unfreezing assets and lifting sanctions.

“Washington is studying the use of Iranian assets to compensate Gulf states for damages”

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Trump also said negotiations have hit an impasse over the Trump administration so far refusing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, quoting Iranian military adviser Mohsen Rezaei that “The negotiations are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock.”

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The Hill reported that Trump warned the U.S. would again take military action if the two sides do not hash out a deal in the near future, saying “we’ll either have something done fairly quickly, or we’ll finish it out militarily.”

In parallel, CNN reported that Trump told Fox News the Iranian strikes are “certainly not going to help” negotiations on ending the war and urged Tehran to “get back to the table and make a deal.”

Multiple outlets reported that the U.S. Treasury Department plans to redirect Iranian assets to help Gulf allies rebuild infrastructure damaged during the conflict, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent directing teams to assess repair costs for damage already inflicted and to explore options for using Iranian assets for those repairs.

CBS News said the Treasury intends to utilize “all available authorities to make Iranian assets accessible for rebuilding and repair efforts related to any future damage inflicted by Iran,” while also seeking comprehensive estimates from Gulf allies of the costs associated with repairing damage caused by Iran since the conflict began.

CBS News

Euronews reported that the language used to describe the new measures did not appear limited to traditional frozen assets, and that the Iranian assets Washington is considering reallocating could include frozen funds along with ships previously seized by the United States.

The Jerusalem Post similarly described the U.S. government attempt to redirect Iranian assets for rebuilding and repairs of future damage caused by Iran, citing a source familiar with the matter and noting that the disclosure came a day after Mohsen Rezaei told CNN that a peace deal hinged on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen by the United States.

The reported asset-redirection effort is framed as a response to damage in Gulf states after renewed Iranian missile and drone strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain over the weekend, which left one person dead and at least 63 injured, according to Swarajyamag.

Reuters and other outlets cited by Euronews and CNBC described Treasury seeking comprehensive estimates of damage linked to attacks since the start of the war on Iran on 28 February, with the Fox Business network quoting a source saying Bessent asked Treasury officials to draw up comprehensive estimates of the cost of damage.

Swarajyamag reported that reconstruction costs for Gulf energy facilities alone are estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion, with non-hydrocarbon infrastructure adding up to $8 billion more, while also saying the threatened redirection could complicate fragile peace negotiations.

In the negotiations, Mohsen Rezaei told CNN that any potential agreement remains contingent on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen by the United States, and Euronews reported that US officials fear unfreezing funds at this stage would deprive Washington of a key point of leverage in the negotiating process with Tehran.