The US-Iran peace deal offers Tehran a sweeping financial package that includes immediate oil export waivers, a $300 billion private investment fund, and eventual access to more than $100 billion in frozen assets held across multiple countries, according to draft documents and officials familiar with the negotiations.The framework, set to be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland, has emerged as one of the most financially significant agreements between the two countries since the 1979 revolution. It also directly contradicts US President Donald Trump’s public claims that the US is not contributing to any reconstruction fund.
The $300 billion private investment fund
A $300 billion fund is outlined in the US-Iran framework agreement, and more than half that sum, over $150 billion, has already been committed, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.The fund is a private investment vehicle, not a reconstruction or reparations programme, and contains no government money or grants, the source said. Companies based in the US, Gulf Arab states, Asia, South America and Africa have agreed to commit financing, spanning energy, logistics, manufacturing and transport, according to the source.The fund is designed to give both sides an economic incentive to conclude a final deal to end the war, the source said. It will not become operational until a final and satisfactory deal is concluded.“Iran originally sought $400 billion as compensation for war damages from the US, but Washington refused,” a senior Iranian source told Reuters. The idea for the fund then emerged.The draft memorandum of understanding seen by Bloomberg confirms that the US and its regional partners would establish a “reconstruction and economic development programme” for Iran with funding of “at least $300 billion.”President Trump publicly denied on Truth Social that the US would pay Iran $300 billion, writing: “The story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!” However, the draft says only that the US and its partners would ensure financing of that amount, not that it would come from US government coffers.Vice President JD Vance confirmed the possibility in a CBS News interview, saying Iran could gain access to such benefits “so long as they honor their end of the obligation.”
Iran’s frozen assets: Where the money is
Under the deal, Iran will obtain access to its frozen funds based on the “progress” of negotiations in the next 60 days, according to the draft memorandum seen by Bloomberg. The US undertakes that those funds “will be released and made fully available” without setting a specific timeline.US officials have now confirmed Iran will get full access to a total of $100 billion in frozen funds, according to the Wall Street Journal.The blocked funds are mostly payments for Iranian oil sales to countries that got stuck when Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. The assets are held across multiple countries, with the approximate distribution as follows:
| Country | Estimated frozen assets |
| China India Iraq Qatar/South Korea US EU (Luxembourg etc.)Japan |
$20 billion+ ~$7 billion ~$6 billion ~$6 billion ~$2 billion ~$1.6 billion~$1.5 billion |
Total estimates range from roughly $50 billion to more than $100 billion (WSJ, Reuters).
Iran’s priority is to unblock an initial $24 billion in phases, which would allow its leaders to increase the value of the country’s currency and lower inflation, said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, chief executive of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation.
Immediate oil waivers and sanctions relief
Under the terms of the draft MOU, the US Treasury Department “will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives” immediately after the memorandum is signed.The US will lift its naval blockade, and the two countries will work to ensure that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz returns to its prewar level within 30 days. The US will also commit to a phased lifting of all sanctions on Iran, including UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, though no timeline is specified.Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program for the next 60 days, and the US will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region during that period.
What the deal does NOT address
The draft memorandum seen by Bloomberg does not directly address the state of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. It says only that the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium “will be adequately addressed in a final agreement” along with all other nuclear issues.Nor does it mention Iran’s conventional military forces, including its ballistic missile arsenal, which Trump entered the war calling a threat to the US, according to Middle East Eye.The memorandum also says the ceasefire includes “all fronts, including in Lebanon,” reaffirming a key Iranian demand that could anger US ally Israel.The Trump administration has “managed to unite both supporters and critics against a deal that it still hasn’t released,” Mark Dubowitz, chief executive officer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote on X. “So far, it doesn’t look promising.”Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on X: “If this is true, Iran wins. There should be zero sanctions relief day one.”The US and Iran plan to formally sign the memorandum of understanding on June 19 in Switzerland, at the Bürgenstock, a mountain resort overlooking Lake Lucerne.Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead the American delegation, while Iran will likely be represented by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.The signing will clear the way for 60 days of talks intended to end the war for good and put strict new limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
