Iran Says It Will Not Use Frozen Funds to Buy U.S. Farm Products

【Financial News, New York = Lee Byung-chul】 Iran has once again denied the U.S. claim that it will use frozen overseas funds to buy American farm products.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said on X on the 25th local time that "the United States is falsely claiming that our unfrozen funds will be used to buy American agricultural products." He added, "The only crop we harvest is the distrust the United States has planted for decades," and criticized Washington by saying, "What the United States exports is GMO soybeans, broken promises, and nothing but rude remarks."
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also reaffirmed the same position.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, "Whether to buy agricultural products is decided by price and quality, not by conditions set by the United States." He added, "It is interesting that the purpose of the war, which was once to destroy Iranian civilization, has now shifted to making American farmers rich."
Earlier, President Trump said on Truth Social on the 24th that "the unfrozen funds will be deposited in an escrow account managed by the United States and used only to purchase food and medical supplies, including U.S.-grown corn, wheat, and soybeans, from the United States."
Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, also said in a CNBC interview that "the unfrozen Iranian funds will be managed by the Treasury Department, and a significant portion will be used to buy American food and medicine."
Iran, however, has repeatedly rejected the U.S. explanation and is sticking to its position that it will independently decide how the frozen funds are used.
The dispute comes as President Trump pushes for an armistice agreement with Iran and faces criticism from hard-line Republicans who say he has made too many concessions to Tehran.



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