$12bn Iran Funds Released, Oil Sanctions Waived to Aug 21
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- Iran's Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced an agreement with the US to release $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, paired with a US Treasury waiver on sanctions covering Iranian crude oil, petrochemicals, and petroleum products through August 21.
- President Donald Trump said Iran "will agree" to weapons inspections as part of a broader deal with the United States.
- Vice President JD Vance said negotiators made "a lot of good progress" and laid "a very good foundation" for a final deal, with Iran's top negotiators returning home while a team of technical experts remains in Switzerland.
- Former Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyed Hossein Mousavian of Princeton University called the Memorandum of Understanding a "golden opportunity" to end decades of hostility and secure a sustainable deal.
- The Lebanon ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held, though fear of renewed hostilities has kept displaced residents from returning to southern villages like Maifadoun.
Why it matters: The $12bn fund release and oil sanctions waiver through August 21 are the first concrete economic deliverables in the US-Iran talks, giving Iran immediate access to frozen assets and global oil markets while the deadline pressures both sides to finalize a nuclear inspection agreement.
