Monetary compensation becomes key sticking point in Iran deal as Trump bristles at comparison to Obama agreement
By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN
(CNN) — One of the key sticking points remaining in negotiations between the US and Iran centers on monetary compensation, as President Donald Trump is eager to strike a deal that will be viewed as superior to a prior agreement inked during the Obama administration, a US official familiar with the talks told CNN.
Iran has communicated to mediators that they want some form of financial compensation to be released as soon as the two sides agree on an initial memorandum of understanding, the official said, and not withheld for a future date.
But Trump administration officials are concerned that any unfreezing of funds at such an early stage could lessen the economic pain the US has inflicted on Iran throughout the course of the war — potentially eliminating, or at least weakening, a key leverage point Washington holds over Tehran.
That leverage will be fundamental to the US entering the second phase of negotiations — or “highly technical talks,” as Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to them — on the specifics of Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump has made clear to his team that he wants any agreement to appear far stronger than the deal struck in 2015, and to avoid anything that could be construed as handing over “pallets of cash,” a phrase Trump has invoked to criticize then-President Barack Obama’s decision to give Iran financial compensation.
The president has told advisers he will not sign any deal where the US directly provides money to Iran, according to sources familiar with the matter, mindful of the comparisons to the Obama deal. The 2015 agreement unfroze $1.7 billion for Iran, a figure dwarfed by the $12 billion Iran has sought as part of the current negotiations.
Given Iran is unlikely to agree to any deal that has no compensation, officials acknowledge the issue is as much about public messaging as it is financial logistics. Advisers have worked to develop options that would involve other countries, including Qatar, releasing funds to Iran while the US avoids direct payments to the regime.
Another option would involve unfreezing Iranian assets but restricting them for humanitarian use only – dispersing the money to approved vendors for medicine, food and agricultural goods rather than giving them to the regime itself.
There have also been discussions around an investment fund for Iran that would provide billions of dollars for reconstruction once the two sides reach a final deal, sources have said. The US would not invest in the fund, and the bulk of the money would come from Gulf nations.
The White House has insisted Iran won’t see any financial relief until it relinquishes its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, invoking the refrain “no dust, no dollars” as shorthand for the red line.
“We have control of money that they claim is theirs,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting last week. “We’ll keep control of that money. When they behave properly, and when they do what’s right, we’ll let them have their money. But right now, we’re not doing that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that sanctions would not be lifted immediately.
“There’s no signing bonuses here, but ultimately it would all be conditions based,” he said in a congressional hearing Wednesday. “The sanctions that are directly related to the nuclear program would be discussed – if in fact they go through all the way on the things that we’re asking them to do – but that would be part of the negotiation. It wouldn’t be at the front end.”
The-CNN-Wire
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