By Ryan Morgan
Contributing Writer
A senior U.S. administration official has pushed back on reports that a pending peace framework between the United States and Iran would include immediate economic relief to the Iranian side.
In a call on Friday, the U.S. official said a memorandum of understanding with Tehran would enable the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to all sides, including by lifting a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. The official said the framework also requires Iran to turn over highly enriched nuclear material to be destroyed on site and then taken out of the country.
The senior U.S. official dismissed reports indicating Iran could receive as much as $12 billion in economic relief immediately upon signing onto the agreement. Instead, he said, any economic relief would depend on Tehran’s adherence to the terms of the deal.
“If we see them honoring their end of the bargain, it’s going to be very good for Iran, and if we see them not honoring their end of the bargain, then they’re not going to get anything out of it,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, President Donald Trump accused the Iranian side of leaking inaccurate claims about the tentative deal to the media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has since affirmed Iran’s support for the negotiations and said the media should refrain from speculating about the terms of the deal.
“In line with our responsible and transparent approach, all details will be shared with the public in due course,” Araghchi wrote on X.
The senior U.S. official raised the likelihood that the deal could be signed “over the next few days.”
Iran’s leadership had agreed in 2015 to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew from that agreement in his first term and intensified sanctions, after citing concerns that the deal didn’t also constrain Iran’s missile program or its support for designated terrorist groups.
The U.S. official said the pending deal would mean “the Iranians are no longer funding violence in the region, but it would also mean that everyone is respecting the territorial sovereignty of Iran.”
One recurring flashpoint in the negotiations has been an Israeli military campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that has aligned with Iran over the years. Tehran has repeatedly called for a peace framework to fully cover Lebanon, and threatened to cut off talks if Israeli military operations continued there.
In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged the Trump administration’s efforts to advance the peace framework. Katz said Israel, ultimately, must retain the ability to strike Iran again if it deems there is an imminent nuclear threat.
“Israel must ensure that in the future as well, we will have the ability to act independently to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to prepare accordingly,” Katz said.
Katz said Israeli forces also would not withdraw from territories they currently control in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. official said the deal will cover Lebanon, though Israel would retain the right to respond to breaches of the peace.
