Trump Announces Plan to Use Iranian Assets for US Farm Exports
US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that the United States will take money from Iran as it is having a hard time with food. Speaking at the Rose Garden Club Dinner with American Farmers in Washington DC, Trump stated that Iran would become a new market for US agricultural products.
Trump's Remarks on Iran as a New Market
Trump said, "We have another one a new market coming up and that's called the lovely country of Iran. It's a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there? The Islamic Republic of Iran is having a hard time with food and we're going to be taking some of their money and we'll spend it and we're going to be buying wheat, soybeans and corn a lot of it. And that process is going to be starting pretty soon. It's going to be pretty big too. I think it's going to be very big."
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Rejects US Claims
In response, Iran's Parliamentary Speaker MB Ghalibaf refuted the US claims on social media platform X. He posted, "America falsely claims our unfrozen assets will buy their agriculture. Interesting. The only crop we're harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust. It's organic, abundant, and homegrown. But apparently the US only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks."
Details of the Proposed Financial Relief
According to Al Jazeera, Trump remarked that initial financial relief under a Memorandum of Understanding would include $500 million in American goods. He insisted that no direct cash would reach Tehran, promising the funds would instead be used to buy corn and wheat from US farmers to alleviate what he described as Iran's "hunger problem."
US Vice President JD Vance's Comments
US Vice President JD Vance also commented on the issue, stating that if Iranian assets are unfrozen, "they're going to go to make American farmers richer and feed the Iranian people," as quoted by Al Jazeera.
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between the US and Iran over economic sanctions and asset freezes, with both sides trading accusations over the humanitarian impact of such measures.
