Iran negotiator Ghalibaf rejects claims unfrozen funds will buy US goods
Iran's parliament speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has denied US President Donald Trump's assertions that unfrozen Iranian assets will be used solely to purchase American agricultural products.
Ghalibaf wrote on social media platform X on Thursday that the US falsely claims Iran's unfrozen assets will be spent on their agriculture. He sarcastically added that the only crop Iran is harvesting is decades of mistrust planted by the US, calling it organic, abundant, and homegrown. He also stated that Washington only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises, and trash talk.
These remarks follow Trump's earlier statements that initial financial relief under the Pakistan-brokered Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would include $500 million worth of American goods. Trump insisted that no cash would go directly to Tehran, promising the funds would instead be used to buy corn and wheat from US farmers to address what he called Iran's "hunger problem".
US Vice President JD Vance said that if Iranian assets are unfrozen, they will make American farmers richer and feed the Iranian people. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking alongside Bahraini leaders in Manama on Thursday, said the US seeks a deal that does not compromise security or prosperity for itself or its regional allies.
Iranian state and semi-official media have countered the US administration's narrative, portraying the framework agreement as a strategic victory. According to the semi-official Mehr News Agency, Ghalibaf described the memorandum during a diplomatic visit to Baku as a "declaration of US defeat", asserting that the text contains no legal clauses mandating the purchase of US commodities.
On Monday, Iran's central bank governor said funds released under the emerging agreement will not necessarily be restricted to essential goods. The MOU, brokered by Pakistan, began on June 18 following electronic signatures from Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
