President Donald Trump walks towards reporters as he arrives for the G7 summit. (Photo: AP)
US President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social on Monday that “Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon!” his most direct public endorsement yet of a key clause in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Washington and Tehran on Sunday to end more than 100 days of war.
In the same post, Trump pushed back sharply on financial reporting around the deal: “Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon! Also, the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The figure Trump dismissed, however, is not $300 million. It is $300 billion and it was confirmed by his own administration hours before the post.
The Financial Times, citing a US official, reported that the Trump administration is prepared to allow the establishment of a $300 billion investment fund for Iran as part of a final settlement to end the war contingent on Tehran agreeing to a nuclear deal.
The official told the FT that Washington had discussed “the possibility of sanctions relief and a big $300bn fund to rebuild their country.” The incentives would be tied to Iran’s “performance” in adhering to the MOU that is to be formally signed in Geneva on Friday.
Critically, the fund would not be a direct government payment. According to a person briefed on the talks cited by the FT, the money would come from private companies keen to invest in a country with abundant energy resources not from government treasuries. The structure and management of the fund were described as not immediately clear.
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The fund would only come into play after a sequence of conditions are met: a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the conclusion of further nuclear negotiations.
The FT also noted that the scale of financial incentives floated for Iran had been among the most contentious and politically sensitive issues in the negotiations because, as the paper put it, Trump “is loath to be seen to be rewarding the Islamic regime.”
What Trump’s own team said
Hours before Trump’s Truth Social post, Vice President JD Vance said on CBS News that Iranians “could have access” to a $300 billion reconstruction fund if they comply with the terms of the deal.
“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation,” Vance said.
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The investment fund concept did not originate on the Iranian side. According to the New York Times, the proposal is an iteration of an idea first raised by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law both real estate investors.
Mediators told the Times that the two men had suggested promoting real estate projects in Tehran and establishing a broader investment mechanism as an incentive for a deal, a framing that was subsequently folded into the formal draft text.
Diplomats familiar with the draft told the Times that the American side deliberately avoided the words “compensation” or “reparations,” opting instead for the term “international investment fund” a rebranding confirmed by multiple officials across several outlets.
Under the MOU as reported, Iran reaffirms its commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty not to produce nuclear weapons. A 60-day period of negotiations on a final agreement on nuclear issues would follow.
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What the deal includes so far
The framework agreement, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar after 107 days of war, extends the existing ceasefire for 60 days and sets the stage for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The formal signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Geneva. Key nuclear questions including the disposal of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remain to be settled in follow-on talks.
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