U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States will not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift sanctions until a peace deal is reached. In an NBC News “Meet the Press” interview, he frames the sequence as “comes after,” indicating that any steps that ease pressure would follow an agreement rather than precede it. Multiple outlets report Trump also links potential sanctions relief and asset unfreezing to Iranian behavior, saying he would consider talks and related measures if Iran “behaves” or “does a good job.”
Trump additionally says he is not demanding that Lebanon be part of any short-term arrangement with Tehran, according to reports drawing on the same interview. Separately, outlets note he says the U.S. is willing to speak with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public after being wounded in U.S. strikes earlier in the conflict, though Trump does not give details.
The comments come as U.S. and Israeli forces have conducted strikes on Iran since late February, and the Trump administration continues efforts to negotiate an arrangement aimed at ending the conflict.
