Iran has put asset releases at the center of any deal with Washington. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said that if Tehran signs a memorandum of understanding with the United States, at least 50% of Iran’s frozen assets must be released immediately at signing. The amount is estimated at more than $12 billion. The remainder, he said, should be unfrozen in stages within one to two months after the agreement takes effect.
Gharibabadi described the assets as sovereign Iranian property that has been “illegally frozen” for years. He said Tehran would treat no draft as final unless Iran’s interests and concerns are fully addressed. That makes the release schedule a core condition, not a secondary clause in the talks.
Crypto holdings worth nearly $1 billion are part of the dispute
The negotiations also cover digital assets seized under U.S. sanctions enforcement. According to the source material, the U.S. Treasury launched “Operation Economic Fury” in late April 2026 and froze several batches of Iran-linked crypto. The most visible case was $344 million in USDT on the TRON blockchain. Total crypto seizures under the action were said to be close to $1 billion.
U.S. authorities have long accused Iran of moving funds through cryptocurrency exchanges, and of using crypto assets to conceal cross-border transactions outside the SWIFT sanctions framework. TRON-based stablecoins, with lower fees and faster transfers, have been cited as a common route. One issue remains open: if a deal is reached and sanctions are loosened, the framework still does not spell out how those on-chain assets would actually be released.
A 14-point MOU is under discussion, but sequencing remains the main clash
The report says the two sides are discussing an MOU covering 14 issues, led by Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The outline under discussion includes a halt to Iran’s uranium enrichment activity, phased U.S. sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets held around the world, and the removal of military restrictions tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
The sharpest disagreement is over timing. Iran wants asset releases to happen in parallel with the signing of the MOU and rejects a “comply first, unfreeze later” structure. The U.S. position is that asset releases should be tied to Iran’s actual performance under the deal, reflecting concerns raised after the 2015 nuclear agreement. Gharibabadi also said the technical and financial details for accessing the funds would be negotiated during a 60-day implementation period after the MOU is signed.