US VP Vance Assures Unfrozen Iranian Funds Will Not Finance Terrorism
US Vice President JD Vance has stated that any unfrozen Iranian assets would be monitored to ensure they do not finance terrorism. His remarks came after the first round of talks between Tehran and Washington concluded early Monday at Switzerland's Burgenstock resort.
"If we ever unfreeze Iranian assets, we can ensure that... Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism," Vance told reporters. The talks are part of a two-month negotiating period set under a preliminary deal agreed last week, aimed at ending the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
Among the elements agreed in the so-called memorandum of understanding is a US commitment to eventually "terminate all types of sanctions against" Tehran and to "make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets" of Iran. Vance suggested that criticism of that portion of the agreement was due to "misreporting".
Iran has been subject to asset freezes and sweeping sanctions by the United States and other Western countries since its 1979 Islamic revolution. While no official figure exists for the total amount of frozen Iranian assets, media reports estimate the sum at between $100 billion and $123 billion.
Vance said that US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, along with Qatar—which mediated the talks along with Pakistan—had devised "a very interesting solution" to ensure those funds were not misused. "If there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen, then we have approval over that process; the Qataris have approval over that process," he explained.
He described the arrangement as "a classic Trump deal, where if Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they're going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people". Vance called it "great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and fundamentally, again, will contribute to this regional security architecture that we've built".
The talks represent a significant diplomatic effort between the two countries, which have been at odds since the 1979 revolution. The outcome remains subject to further negotiations over the next two months.
