AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Iran Wants Billions in Frozen Funds Back to Make a Deal With TrumpThe money has become a sticking point in talks, with Iran insisting that meaningful negotiations cannot begin without the funds’ release.Listen · 5:46 min A crowd carrying a photo of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, during a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday. The Iranian government has been pummeled economically by Western sanctions and recent wars.Credit...Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York TimesMay 27, 2026, 2:39 p.m. ETThe United States and Iran have sent conflicting signals about what it would take to reach a deal to end the war. But amid competing demands from both sides, Tehran has not wavered from one condition: getting access to billions of its own money now frozen in foreign banks.The funds have become a sticking point in talks, with Iran insisting that meaningful negotiations cannot begin without the money’s release, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday.But a senior U.S. administration official who declined to be named told reporters on Sunday that while the question of Iran’s frozen funds could potentially be part of a deal down the line, Iran would have to commit to giving up its highly enriched uranium first.“No dust, no dollars,” the official said, referring to President Trump’s term for the highly enriched uranium, which he calls “nuclear dust.”The money has become a key request for the Iranian government, which has been economically hobbled by decades of Western sanctions and recent wars with the United States and Israel. The conflicting views on the frozen funds suggest that Tehran and Washington are far apart on a peace agreement.Iran is seeking $12 billion out of $24 billion frozen abroad, according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Qatar, where some of the funds are held, is a mediator in the discussions, and Iranian and Qatari officials met on Monday.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT