A senior U.S. official has forcefully rejected the Iranian regime’s latest spin, denying that Tehran would receive unconditional access to $12 billion in frozen assets before negotiations on a final agreement even begin.

Iranian media outlets and officials have claimed that implementation of certain commitments, including access to frozen assets and relief from maritime restrictions, would occur before final negotiations begin.

Reuters reported that Iranian officials have publicly discussed proposals involving the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets as part of a broader memorandum of understanding.

The Times of Israel reported:

The United States will release $12 billion in frozen assets to Iran before the start of negotiations under the just-announced US-Iran agreement, the Mehr news agency reports, quoting a 14-point memorandum of understanding between the two nations.

The document published by Mehr stipulates “the release of 24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets during the 60‑day negotiation period” that begins after the memorandum of understanding is concluded. A signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Switzerland.

“Half of this amount must be made available to Iran before the start of the negotiations,” the text, which has not been officially confirmed, specifies.

According to a report from Axios, a senior U.S. official flatly rejected that characterization, calling it nothing more than “spin.”

“This is completely not true,” the official told Axios. “This is a pay-for-performance deal and no frozen funds will be released without the Iranians implementing their commitments.”

🇺🇸🇮🇷A senior U.S. official denied Iran’s claim that it will get 12 billion dollars from its frozen funds unconditionally before the 60-day negotiations start and called it “a spin”
🇺🇸🇮🇷”This is completely not true. This is a pay for performance deal and no frozen funds will be…

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) June 15, 2026

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, President Trump’s team has been negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Iran focused on ending hostilities, securing the Strait of Hormuz, and dismantling Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran has aggressively pushed for roughly $12 billion in frozen funds as part of any deal, while the U.S. side has consistently tied any economic relief to strict compliance and real performance.

Just days ago, President Trump himself slammed the regime for leaking false and “weak and pathetic” claims about the deal terms to Iranian state media. Trump called the Iranian side “very dishonorable people to deal with” with “no such thing as dealing in good faith.”

Then on Sunday, President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that they had officially reached a US-Iran peace agreement.

The agreement will be signed on Friday, June 19, in Switzerland.

Jim Hᴏft Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft's articles here.

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