After nearly three months of war, the United States and Iran have agreed to a framework for a peace deal. However, despite this progress, the release of Iranian frozen assets remains a sticking point between the two nations.With the peace deal stipulated to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, the US and Iran would begin a 60-day negotiation period on the Iranian nuclear programme. (AP/AFP)Iran's Mehr news agency reported that Washington would release $12 billion in frozen assets to Tehran before the start of negotiations.Track latest updates on the US-Iran warCiting a 14-point "memorandum of understanding" between the US and Iran, the agency stated that the remaining frozen assets, which amount to nearly $24 billion, will be released during the 60-day negotiation period.Moments before the peace deal was announced, a senior Iranian official also told Reuters that, under the terms of the draft, the US would agree to the release of $24 billion of frozen Iranian assets.Furthermore, three regional officials told the Associated Press the emerging deal was expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The amount was not specified as the text of the US-Iran deal is yet to be made public.However, citing US officials familiar with the matter, Axios reported that the Iranian claim is false and that Washington has not agreed to the release of $12 billion in frozen assets."This is completely not true. This is a pay-for-performance deal, and no frozen funds will be released without the Iranians implementing their commitments", the official told Axios.Also Read | US-Iran deal 'completed': Inside the draft that will end a 3-month-old warThe Trump administration has previously stated that any release of Iranian funds will occur only after Tehran fulfils certain conditions under the deal.With this, it appears that the US will stand firm on its push for Iran to end its nuclear and uranium enrichment programme.Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also said Tehran's commitments under the peace deal will take effect from Friday, adding that the next phase of negotiations will focus on lifting sanctions on Iran, which have harmed its economy for years.However, the Iranian official added that Tehran would enter the next phase of negotiations only after the unfreezing of Iranian assets, in addition to the US ending its naval blockade and a formal end to the West Asia war is announced.The nuclear questionA key goal of the US (and Israel), which also led to the start of this war, is that Iran give up its nuclear programme and enriched uranium. With the peace deal stipulated to be signed on Friday in Switzerland, the US and Iran would begin a 60-day negotiation period on the Iranian nuclear programme.US President Donald Trump has stated on several occasions that Iran's nuclear programme is a “red line” for Washington, and a deal will only come if Iran agrees to halt it.While Iran has made no public statement regarding a complete stop to its nuclear programme, Tehran has declared that it has no intention of developing or acquiring a nuclear weapon.In an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, Trump added that Washington was still negotiating whether Iran would suspend its enrichment for 20 years. He added that he “might settle” for a 15-year suspension, but did not elaborate further as he did not want to “negotiate via the media.”(With inputs from Reuters, AFP and Bloomberg)