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Will Iran get access to frozen assets after deal signing on June 19? Vance says 'Tehran will be welcomed if they...'
Vance underscored that Iran will not get a “dime of money” unless they perform their “obligations."
The two nations, US and Iran are expected to meet on Friday to officially sign the deal after President Trump announced that the deal was “complete.” US vice president JD Vance on Monday said that the deal has already been signed “digitally”, adding that no money has been released to Iran and any sanctions relief would depend on the Tehran's compliance with terms of the deal.
Speaking to ABC’s Good Morning America, Vance was asked if any sanction money has been released to Iran since the deal was announced and signed. The reporter, citing Lindsey Graham’s post on X, asked Vance if there was any truth in claims being made by Tehran that there will be no signing unless the assets are released.
Refuting such claims, Vance said, “We already signed the deal digitally yesterday, and there's been no money released, and that won't change.”
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Vance underscored that Iran will not get a “dime of money” unless they perform their “obligations,” adding that the money in the picture is fundamentally sanctions relief and not "American money.”
“We’re not giving them American money. Not a single dollar of American money will go to Iran. But what we’re saying is we are willing to give significant sanctions relief if Iranians make long term commitments that are necessary to be a normal country, to give up their nuclear weapons programme, not funding terrorist activities all over the Middle East.”
“This is a performance based thing. If we see the Iranians taking action to eliminate their stockpile of enriched uranium and allow the kind of verification regime we need to see to know they’re not going to build a nuclear weapon.. then yes.. sanctions relief will follow,” he added.
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Vance stressed that the agreement offers Iran to be welcomed into the global economy, provided it adhered to the terms of the deal.
"This is really about walking down a pathway here where the Iranians will be welcomed into the world economy if they do the right thing," he said.
“We have to remember, their economy, nuclear programme are fundamentally destroyed. If they don’t do the right things, if they don’t allow the verification regime, they’re never going to have the money to rebuild their nuclear programme to begin with.”
Vance said this deal is a win for American people and President Trump wants it to be a win for Iranians too.
“This is a win-win for the American people. The president has said that he wants it to be a win-win for Iranian people as well. But that requires some trust building and some real positive conduct from the Iranian political system. We’re gonna see if that happens. If it does, they’re absolutely going to see the President of the United States and the entire team as a willing partner to make their country more prosperous.”
Vance acknowledges challenges in implementing deal
When asked whether Israel's decision not to be bound by the agreement and to retain troops in Lebanon could hinder its implementation, Vance acknowledged that achieving a lasting peace in the region would be challenging.
"Everything is going to complicate the deal. As you know, in this region of the world, even a ceasefire, sometimes, they're a little bit dirty. It goes from shooting a lot to shooting a little to shooting not at all," he said.
"But what we fundamentally believe is that this is going to be a good deal for the people of Israel, for the people of the Gulf, the people of America, and again, potentially for the people of Iran as well," he said.
