Vance says US, Qatar crafting plan to direct unfrozen Iranian assets toward American goods

US Vice President JD Vance says the US seeks to create a process to ensure that any unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to “benefit” the Iranian people rather than fund terrorism, by directing the funds to American purchases.

Vance says during his press briefing that US President Donald Trump’s top aide Jared Kushner has worked with Qatar on a proposal under which, “if there is any frozen Iranian assets that are unfrozen,” the US and Qatar would both have approval over the process, and the money would be used to purchase “American soy, American corn, and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

He says the initiative would be mutually beneficial to Washington and Tehran, since “if Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people.”

“That’s a very, very good and very classic Trump deal that’s great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and fundamentally, again, will contribute to this regional security architecture that we’ve built and that we’re going to work very hard to ensure that it endures,” he adds, pushing back against public concerns about unfreezing Iranian assets, which he says were sparked by “misreporting” on the issue.

Vance adds that Washington has been in “constant contact” with Jerusalem and other Mideast partners throughout the US-Iran negotiations, rejecting the notion that the US is “imposing” a deal with Tehran on the region.

“We were in constant contact with the Israelis yesterday, but also, of course, with the Saudis and the Emiratis and others in the region. We talked to the Lebanese yesterday as well,” he says, adding, “We’re constantly trying to keep our regional friends updated about this. This is not a deal that the United States is imposing on the region. This is a deal that the region has desperately asked the United States to put in place.”

Vance likely refers to Gulf partners, which have broadly sought de-escalation after weeks of bombardment by Iran and the energy crisis created by Iran’s blocking the Strait of Hormuz, while Israeli officials have expressed grave concern over making concessions to Tehran.

Vance says Trump seeks to “lay the foundation, see if we can get to a permanent peace. If we can’t, the President of the United States still has a lot of options to accomplish America’s security objectives. But he has certainly committed us to this pathway for now, and we’re going to keep on working and seeing what we can accomplish.”