The US and Iran have continued to present contradictory views on the current status of the war and when it might end. Both sides appeared to meet halfway in the past few days, suggesting that they were close to signing a preliminary deal to end the hostilities. While at the G7 Summit in France, US President Donald Trump went a step further, saying an initial agreement had already been signed, and that its details would be published “pretty soon.”

Although Iran and Trump have repeatedly gone back and forth on Tehran possessing nuclear power, fresh international reports now indicate that a $300 billion reconstruction fund may be in the pipeline for Iran as part of the proposed deal. Citing a source briefed on the purported talks, the Financial Times reported this week that the Trump administration is considering the multi-billion-dollar investment fund, which is contingent on certain reiterated obligations.

However, top US officials are already contradicting the claims, with President Trump going so far as to slam the “fake news” altogether.

What did Trump say about the US’s $300B fund for Iran?

“Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon!” Trump proclaimed on Truth Social. Appearing to mention the wrong figures amid his furious tirade on social media, he added, “Also, the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!”

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Other US officials suggested differently

When asked about the possibility of Iranians getting a $300 billion reconstruction fund, US Vice President JD Vance somewhat agreed, signalling that it was possible if Tehran complies with the deal’s terms.

“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honour their end of the obligation,” Vance said during a ‘CBS Morning’ broadcast.

Additionally, Vance asserted, “When people say that billions of dollars of assets will be released, that’s not true. What is true is that Iran will have a much better and much more prosperous future if they meet the obligations they make in this agreement.”

He also maintained that the Trump administration was “open to a lot of things that are on the table.” Nonetheless, he insisted that a multi-billion-dollar figure just doesn’t appear anywhere in any of the texts that we’ve talked about with the Iranians.”

“What we have said is that we’re willing to talk about unfreezing assets, but a much, much bigger deal is unsanctioning their economy — so long as they make the long-term commitments on the nuclear program,” he added during the CBS interview.

In addition to the $300 billion figure emerging in the aforementioned reports, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Monday that the country would receive $24 billion in frozen funds during the 60-day final negotiation period as part of the terms of the agreement. Vance also contradicted those claims, stressing that the “text is very clear,” and “there’s nothing about $24 billion.”

Alluding to the speculative chatter around the agreement, he told CBS News, “What we have said is that we’re willing to talk about unfreezing assets, but a much, much bigger deal is unsanctioning their economy — so long as they make the long-term commitments on the nuclear program.”

Elsewhere, multiple American reports quoted a senior US official briefing reporters on the so-called “reconstruction” fund. When asked about a potential sanctions relief for Iran, they said, “Sanctions relief is not tied specifically to any particular conduct; it’s tied generally to [Iran] behaving more appropriately.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene challenges Trump

Former House Rep and Trump ally-turned-critic, Marjorie Taylor Greene, questioned the intentions behind the purported $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran. Posting a video on social media, she rallied behind Americans, who she claimed had already paid the price for the war.

“We are prepared to release sanctions, and we’ll do some small gestures of that in the beginning, if they make some small gestures to us that show that they’re willing to meet their commitments as well,” they continued, adding that there won’t be any “side deals” made with the country, granting access to frozen funds.

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They further told reporters, “We discussed the possibility of releasing frozen funds, sanctions relief and a big $300 billion fund to rebuild their country. All of these things are going to be tied to performance.”

“There is an agreement that there will be $300 billion be given to Iran. For reconstruction and investments for Iran,” she began in the video. “Now I’m assuming this comes from the American taxpayer, and I want to tell you that’s a bunch of bulls**t. This is a war that Americans did not support. As a matter of fact, we said no more foreign wars, and that’s what we voted for in 2024.”

MTG continued, “Well, Trump decided to bomb Iran and go to war against Iran on behalf of his good friend Bibi. Netanyahu in Israel, and he’s on record saying that he did this for Israel, while he claimed that it was to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon.” She also stressed that she and outgoing US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the US Congress that Iran was “nowhere close to having a nuclear weapon,” just like other “nuclear regulatory agencies.”

“Iran was nowhere close to having a nuclear weapon, but Trump went ahead and bombed them anyway.”

She went on to say that the war with Iran had already cost Americans $2 billion a day, while depleting the country’s weapons and ammunition needed for its own defence. “But let’s add on to that. What else did it do? You know what it did? It drove the cost of gasoline that hurt the average American citizen, drove it to over $450 a gallon, drove diesel up close to $6 a gallon, and much higher price,” Greene fumed further.

“We’ve been paying $2 billion a day for Trump’s war in Iran and Israel’s war in Iran, and now we’re getting told that we may have to pay an additional $300 billion to rebuild what Trump and Netanyahu decided to bomb. This is a bunch of bullsh*t.”

What do we know about the US-Iran deal so far?

According to Trump’s announcement on social media, “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.” He also proclaimed to have authorised the “toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” and the simultaneous “immediate” removal of the United States Naval blockade. Urging global vessels to start their engines, Trump declared, “Let the oil flow!”

JD Vance told CNN that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran was “about a page and a half.”

“On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase, but what the MOU does is set up a framework whereby the Iranians get the benefits of the bargain by meeting their obligations under the bargain,” he told the US outlet. The American vice president also underscored that the first paragraph of the document outlined that Iran will commit to “regional peace and stability” and stop funding “terrorist organisations.”

“Most importantly, they’re going to have a verifiable commitment to not building a nuclear weapon,” he added.

As far as the US’s statements go, the agreement was signed electronically by Trump, Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over the weekend.

The Iranian Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council also said via the semiofficial state news outlet Tasnim that warfare between all sides would cease “immediately and permanently from tonight” and that the naval blockade would end in compliance with the agreement.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has emerged as a mediator between the two sides, echoed the sentiment in his own announcement on X before Trump.

“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” he wrote online. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

Sharif also revealed that a signing was scheduled for Friday in Switzerland.