Iran could be $400b better off under deal with US
Updated . First published at
The Trump administration has announced a deal has already been signed with Iran, but more than a day after it was announced, the White House remains cagey on its contents.
Vice President JD Vance said the deal was signed electronically by US and Iranian officials.
Donald Trump has denied claims the US would pay Iran as part of its deal. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
But the only details of the deal have come from leaks, with the White House denying some of them outright.
A draft deal published by Iranian news agency Mehr News on Friday looked like an incredible win for Iran.
Details included a $US300 billion ($424 billion) reconstruction fund for Iran and the withdrawal of American forces from the region.
Vance appeared to confirm the fund was part of the deal when speaking to CBS.
“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honour their end of the obligation,” Vance said.
“The hardliners in the Iranian system will overemphasise the benefits that Iran gets while underemphasising all the things they have to concede.”
The Gulf Coast Coalition appears to refer to other nations in the region but there is not an organisation by that name.
Vance’s comments drew the ire of Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.
“After spending about a billion tax dollars a day on his illegal war with Iran, Trump is now agreeing to a $300 BILLION Iran reconstruction fund?” Schiff said.
“The more we learn about this ‘deal,’ the worse it becomes.”
A man rides a scooter past a giant billboard that shows the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. AP Photo/Hussein Malla
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Iran was “stronger today than before the war”.
“Trump has humiliated America. He accomplished none of his goals. He was forced to surrender on Iran’s terms,” he said.
“(Iran) made one single concession - opening the Strait.
“And it’s not even a concession because the Strait was open before the war.”
If the reports are accurate, Iran would be far better off than under the deal made with Barack Obama that Trump tore up.
Trump himself has denied the reports, though he appears to have mistaken million for billion.
“Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon!” he said on Truth Social this morning.
“Also, the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!”
Central to the negotiations is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz (pictured), which has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up prices of basics. Getty
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, meanwhile, has declared victory.
“With your historic resistance and the valour of the armed forces against those who sought the life of this nation and the destruction and surrender of this homeland, Iran took a great step toward final victory,” he wrote on X.
“They wanted to, but they couldn’t.”
Another detail that seems to be unresolved is whether ships will be able to use the Strait of Hormuz without paying Iran.
Trump told the New York Times that under a memorandum of understanding, tolls would be suspended in the strait for 60 days.
But he said the strait would be “permanently toll-free”.
Iran meanwhile has said there won’t be a toll, but was considering charging ships a “service fee” to use the strait.
The distinction between a toll and a service fee for transiting the strait is not apparent.
Any nuclear deal signed between the US and Iran will need to be ratified by the US Senate - which has yet to be shown the full text.
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