July 11, 2026
Afiq Fitri Alias
The United States is again trying to lure foreign capital into Iran. A key part of last month’s ceasefire signed between Washington and Tehran was a $300 billion “reconstruction fund” for the Islamic Republic. The details may differ from a similar push in the wake of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to limit Iranian nuclear capabilities. But it’s likely to yield the same underwhelming outcome.
After the JCPOA, Iran attracted $37 billion in announced deals and memorandums of understanding with companies including Airbus and Peugeot. Yet the promised investment boom never materialised; annual FDI inflows rose from $3.4 billion in 2016 to a peak of just $5 billion in 2017, according to UNCTAD data. Even the flagship South Pars gas project led by TotalEnergies was eventually abandoned following President Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the JCPOA.
On the face of it, 2026 looks more promising. For one thing, the sums are bigger. And the reconstruction fund has already attracted more than $150 billion in commitments from private companies across Asia, the Gulf and the US to develop Iran’s energy, logistics, manufacturing and transport sectors, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.
