Funding questions hang over Trump's $300 billion Iran plan
Jake Sullivan told NPR the proposed Iran reconstruction fund relies on outside investment, but the agreement leaves major financing questions open.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
A proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran sits at the center of the Trump administration’s preliminary agreement with Tehran, according to NPR. The size of the plan and the uncertainty over who would finance it have made the fund one of the main unresolved issues in the deal.
Jake Sullivan, who was national security adviser under President Joe Biden, told NPR’s Morning Edition that the money is expected to come from outside investment rather than direct payments by the U.S. government. But Sullivan said the memorandum does not clearly identify the funders or fully exclude U.S. involvement.
President Trump has said American taxpayers would not cover the cost, NPR reported. Sullivan said Iran is nevertheless expecting $300 billion from external sources, and he told NPR that Washington has committed to helping bring that money together.
Sullivan described the financing concept as “something entirely new” in an interview with NPR’s Michel Martin. He contrasted it with the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which did not include a U.S.-backed reconstruction fund for Iran.
How it differs from the 2015 deal
Under the Obama-era nuclear accord, the United States did not give Iran American funds, Sullivan told NPR. Instead, sanctions relief followed Iranian compliance with nuclear limits, allowing Tehran to regain access to its own assets that had been frozen abroad and to restart oil sales.
Sullivan said the Trump administration’s preliminary memorandum takes a different approach by linking a broader agreement to a large reconstruction package. NPR reported that the document is a two-page memorandum of understanding, compared with the 159-page JCPOA reached in 2015.
According to Sullivan, the shorter document leaves out several nuclear restrictions that were part of the earlier agreement. He told NPR it does not require Iran to reduce or cap its nuclear activity and would allow Tehran to keep its enriched uranium stockpile inside the country.
Sullivan also said inspection and verification provisions are left for later negotiations. Under the 2015 agreement, he told NPR, international inspectors received broad access to Iranian nuclear sites, and 97% of Iran’s enriched uranium was sent out of the country.
Questions left for negotiators
The fund’s backers remain unidentified, according to NPR’s account of Sullivan’s comments. The preliminary memorandum does not state whether the United States could take part in the financing structure, even as Trump has said U.S. taxpayers would not pay for it.
Sullivan’s criticism centers on both the financing pledge and the nuclear terms. He told NPR that the administration has put forward a proposal that gives Iran an expectation of large outside support while leaving major details to future talks.
The Trump administration’s preliminary agreement with Tehran has therefore opened two connected questions: how the reconstruction fund would be raised, and what limits Iran would accept on its nuclear program in a final deal. NPR reported that both issues remain unsettled.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.