Topline
President Donald Trump appears close to reaching a new agreement with Iran that reportedly has many similarities to the Obama-era deal he blasted—including sanctions relief for Iran.
President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
It’s unclear exactly what the sanctions relief for Iran could entail—Reuters reported Friday that the deal would waive all sanctions on Iran’s oil and unfreeze billions of dollars in frozen assets.
Vice President JD Vance described the sanctions relief as conditional on Friday, writing on X that “the Iranians are not receiving any cash, and no funds are being released for simply signing a deal or attending a meeting.”
Vance said if Iran “meets its obligations, then economic benefits will flow to them and to the entire region.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also described any sanctions relief as performance-based, saying during a speech at the Reagan National Economic Forum in May that “anything that’s taken off will be taken off slowly” and be based on “milestones that the Iranian regime would have to meet.”
In 2015, Trump assailed the Obama administration for lifting some sanctions on Iran in the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and restored them when he took office in 2018.
Trump and Republicans criticized the Obama administration for paying $1.7 billion to Iran to settle a decades-old dispute over military equipment as part of the agreement, accusing the Obama administration in a 2018 tweet of “loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal.”
Chief Critic
When reports emerged late last month of a tentative agreement that involved sanctions relief, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compared the agreement to the Obama-era deal, writing on X it would amount to paying Iran “to build a [Weapons of Mass Destruction] program and terrorize the world.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also expressed concerns about sanctions relief as part of a potential deal, writing on X that “if the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime . . . now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”
Tangent
Trump previously said an Axios report that the U.S. was considering agreeing to unfreeze $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium was “totally false,” insisting “no money is changing hands,” he told Reuters.
News Peg
Trump and Vance denied on Friday the tentative peace deal would favor Iran. Trump accused the Iranian regime of leaking fake terms to the media, though he did not say which terms were fake or confirm any deals of a tentative deal. It’s also unclear if the agreement would require Iran to cede control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported the strait would be reopened, but controlled through a joint partnership between Iran and Oman. The nuclear aspects of the agreement will also be highly scrutinized. Reuters, citing unnamed sources from the West, among mediators and Iran, reported that it would table nuclear discussions for 60 days after the agreement is reached.
further reading
Trump And Vance Angrily Deny Peace Deal Favors Iran (Forbes)
Trump Cancels Iran Bombings And Claims Peace Deal Is Approved (Forbes)
Trump Says U.S. Will ‘Hit’ Iran Again Today—After Previously Criticizing Lengthy Peace Talks (Forbes)