US Official Denies Iran's Claims of Billions in Frozen Funds Release

A senior American official emphasized in a statement to Axios on Monday that the agreement with Iran operates on the principle of "payment for performance and mutual commitment," according to his words.

In a related development, CNN cited another US official denying Tehran's claims that Washington had released billions of dollars in frozen funds prior to the commencement of the scheduled 60-day negotiation period following the signing of the agreement on Friday.

The official stated, "This is absolutely not true. This is an agreement based on payment for performance, and no frozen funds will be released until the Iranians fulfill their obligations."

This response came after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Abadi suggested that Iran had obtained $12 billion from frozen assets.

Abadi indicated that the next phase of talks would depend on Washington first fulfilling several commitments, including the release of Iranian frozen funds held abroad.

He also mentioned that talks would take place on Friday in Geneva between the heads of the Iranian and American delegations to arrange the upcoming negotiations.

US Vice President J.D. Vance said he intends to attend the official signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran in Geneva.

However, Vance noted in an interview with Fox News that there is a possibility that President Donald Trump might personally participate in the ceremony as well.

The Iranian news agency Mehr published what it described as a "draft memorandum of understanding" approved during the Washington-Tehran discussions, which included 14 articles.

One of the clauses in the Iranian draft demands that Washington release $24 billion of frozen Iranian funds during the talks.

The draft, which Washington has not commented on, requires that half of the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets be made available before the start of the final negotiations.