Iran ties nuclear deal progress to release of $24 billion in assets

A potential agreement between the United States and Iran remains stalled, with Tehran conditioning progress on the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a senior Iranian official said, while warning of wider regional escalation if hostilities resume.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said in an interview with CNN in Tehran that negotiations had reached an impasse and placed responsibility on Washington to move the process forward.

“The negotiations are at a deadlock and (US President Donald) Trump must break this deadlock,” Rezaei said. “The ball is in Trump’s court.”

He described the release of Iranian funds as a key confidence-building measure, framing it as a test of US intent. “If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump – this is a test that America must pass and the path will be opened,” he said. “This is our own money, not America’s money.”

Rezaei warned that any return to conflict would lead to a broader regional confrontation. He said Iran could expand military operations beyond the Persian Gulf to include the Indian Ocean, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

“We will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have been attacking so far,” he said, adding that “the possibility of war is low.”

In the interview, Rezaei also addressed the prospect of high-level diplomacy, rejecting the idea of a meeting between Trump and Khamenei. “This will not happen, right now we are in the first stage of negotiations and Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen,” he said.

Trump said earlier this week that he and Khamenei “seem to be getting along well” and that he would be “honored” to meet him.

Rezaei, who is seen as closely connected to Iran’s security establishment, offered insight into internal strategic thinking following the war, including Iran’s approach to key maritime routes. He reiterated Iran’s position that it shares sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz with Oman, a vital corridor through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed prior to the conflict.

He said Iran would not impose a toll on vessels transiting the strait but could introduce a maintenance fee, arguing that Tehran should not bear the costs of managing the waterway alone.

By Tamilla Hasanova