Iran Claims Sole Control of Assets, Hormuz
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- Iran's UN ambassador Ali Bahreini told reporters in Geneva on June 23, 2026 that Iran alone will decide how to spend its assets once defrozen under the US-Iran deal, explicitly rejecting any US claim of influence over those decisions.
- Iran-US technical talks in Switzerland concluded on June 23, 2026, with Iran's state media reporting that negotiating groups will be formed to address nuclear issues and sanctions.
- Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran will administer the Strait of Hormuz, per state media on June 23, 2026, following talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.
- Lebanon heads into a new round of direct talks with Israel on June 23, 2026 in Washington, with Beirut pressing ahead even as Iran has said it will fold Lebanon into its negotiations with the United States.
- President Trump warned he 'will do what I have to do' if Iran does not stick to the deal, raising the stakes for the technical groups now being set up on nuclear and sanctions files.
Why it matters: Iran's envoy flatly rejecting any US role in how Tehran spends unfrozen assets means the financial leg of the deal is largely cosmetic, while Ghalibaf's announcement that Iran will keep administering the Strait of Hormuz preserves Tehran's leverage over a critical shipping lane. Lebanon's parallel track with Israel in Washington gives Iran a second regional bargaining chip before the nuclear and sanctions working groups even convene, narrowing what Washington actually walks away with.
