Trump repeatedly dodges questions about up-front sanctions relief for Iran

US President Donald Trump repeatedly dodges questions regarding whether Iran is receiving up-front sanctions relief upon the signing of the MOU.

He insists that Iran will only receive funds “if they’re doing things right,” in subsequent nuclear talks, but when he is asked specifically at a press conference about the US issuing a waiver to allow Iran to export oil, Trump does not address the issue directly.

As for Iranian funds that the US has frozen in accounts abroad, Trump indicates that he will allow Tehran to access them.

“We have taken a lot of their money — it’s their own money, and we froze it at a certain point in time,” Trump says. “I guess we’re going to have to give it back.”

“If we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again,” Trump claims.

Pressed on his previous claim that Iran has never won a war or lost a negotiation, Trump insists that is not the case regarding the deal he is signing and that the media will criticize him no matter what he does.

Responding to a question about the roles of Russia and China in the Iran talks, Trump praises the two leaders for “staying neutral,” claiming they could have created more problems for the US had they done more to help Tehran.