As President Donald Trump and the Iranian government reached a written agreement to end the war, Democrats honed in on a section that appeared to promise hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars to Iran.
“With $300 billion, we could end homelessness, fund cancer research for 40 years, and give every child free pre-K for over 7 years,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in an X post. “Instead, Trump is sending it to Iran.”
Trump dismissed such concerns.
“There is no 300 Billion Dollar payment to Iran by the U.S.,” he said in a June 18 Truth Social post. “That’s Fake News! All there is for the U.S. is Success, Lower Oil Prices, and Victory.”
It’s hard to assess the accuracy of Trump’s statement.
Although numerous news organizations published a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, they said it was given to them by a source or senior U.S. official who provided it on condition of anonymity.
The memo cited read, “The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least U.S.D. 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Trump administration has since acknowledged a fund but said no taxpayer money will go toward it.
When a reporter asked Vice President JD Vance on June 18 who would fund the $300 billion, Vance said, “There is a great desire from the Arab world and from outside the Arab world to actually get involved in Iran if they behave properly.”
He cited the United Arab Emirates as an example. If the country wanted to invest in building a power plant, “that actually is impossible right now because of the way that U.S. sanctions work,” Vance said. “And so what we’re saying is that if you behave, and if the Emiratis themselves want to build a power plant, then we will do the sanctions relief necessary to make that possible.”
He said he assumed private money would play a role, but even that “assumes a transformation in Iranian behavior.”
Reuters cited an anonymous source when it reported June 17 that half of the fund had already been committed as “a private investment vehicle” involving no government money or grants.
Companies based in the U.S., the Gulf Arab states, Asia, South America and Africa had agreed to invest in energy, manufacturing and transport, for example, Reuters said.
PolitiFact found no public information on which specific entities have pledged investments. The deal could take up to 60 days to finalize, the memorandum read.
A separate provision in the memorandum said that the U.S. will “make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is working with Qatar to give Iran access to billions of dollars in frozen funds.
But the money that would be freed up from lifting those sanctions would be entirely separate from the proposed $300 billion investment fund, according to Reuters’ reporting.
We contacted the White House for further clarification but did not receive a response.
