Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, on Thursday rejected claims by US officials that Iranian assets unfrozen under a new sanctions relief agreement would be used to purchase American agricultural products. In a post on the social media platform X, Qalibaf wrote that the only crop Iran harvests is “what you planted: decades of mistrust,” describing it as “organic, abundant, and homegrown.” He added that the United States “only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks.” The statement was a direct response to assertions by Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump that the released funds would be channelled to US farmers for corn, wheat and soybeans destined for Iran.

Viewed from Washington, the arrangement is a tightly controlled mechanism designed to ensure that no cash reaches Tehran directly. President Trump told reporters that the initial phase of financial easing would involve approximately $500 million in American goods, with the US using Iranian funds held under supervision to pay American exporters. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent elaborated that a “very large percentage” of the unfrozen assets would be spent on food and medicine from the United States, and that Treasury officials would be stationed in Doha, Qatar, to monitor the disbursements. The US side has framed the process as a humanitarian measure that benefits the Iranian people while supporting American agriculture.

From Tehran, the insistence on sovereign control over spending is a red line. Iranian officials maintain that the 14-point memorandum of understanding, mediated by Pakistan and signed electronically by Presidents Masoud Pezeshkian and Donald Trump on 18 June, commits the United States to providing full access to frozen and restricted funds and to ending all sanctions, including UN Security Council resolutions. They argue that the agreement does not oblige Iran to purchase American goods, and that Tehran alone will determine how the money is used. Qalibaf’s dismissive tone — characterising US exports as nothing more than genetically modified crops and broken pledges — reflects a deep-seated mistrust that Iranian negotiators say has been cultivated by decades of US policy.

The dispute over the destination of the funds underscores the challenges of the implementation phase. While the first tranche of asset release is expected to flow through Qatar under US Treasury oversight, the rhetorical clash suggests that both sides are already positioning themselves for a protracted disagreement over the interpretation of the deal’s terms. The agreement, which entered into force last week, is the most significant diplomatic breakthrough between the two countries in years, yet the public exchange of accusations over something as symbolic as agricultural purchases indicates that mutual suspicion remains entrenched. The next concrete step, according to Bessent, will be the deployment of US Treasury personnel to Doha to supervise the initial disbursement, a move that Tehran has not publicly commented on but which is likely to be scrutinised for any sign of extraterritorial control.