Here’s a sentence you probably didn’t have on your 2026 bingo card: the US government wants Iran to use its own frozen money to buy American farm products.
The proposal, which surfaced during negotiations in Switzerland, would channel roughly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar toward purchasing US agricultural commodities like corn, soybeans, and wheat. The idea is pitched as a two-for-one deal: American farmers get a new export market, and Iran gets food it needs amid persistent shortages.
How the deal would work
On June 22, Vice President JD Vance credited Jared Kushner with originating the concept. President Trump, speaking the same day, emphasized that any unfrozen funds would be earmarked specifically for buying food “exclusively through the United States.”
The $6 billion in question is linked to Iranian oil revenues that have been sitting in Qatari accounts, locked up under the weight of US sanctions. Those sanctions, imposed primarily over Iran’s nuclear program and its support for designated groups, have kept these funds out of Tehran’s reach for years.
