Vance: Iran ‘could have access to’ $300B reconstruction fund

Vice President Vance on Monday said Iran could have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund under its peace agreement with the U.S. if Tehran upholds its obligations outlined in the deal.

When asked about the fund by CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe during a Monday morning interview, Vance said, “Well, Ed, that’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast Coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation.”

“I think that one of the things you’re going to see, Ed — and people have to be skeptical of this — is that the hard-liners in the Iranian system will overemphasize the benefits that Iran gets, while underemphasizing all the things that they have to concede, and all the things they have to provide, in order to get these benefits,” the vice president added.

Conditions of the peace agreement have not been released, but details on the memorandum will be issued Tuesday or Wednesday, according to senior U.S. officials.

The Trump administration also said it would publish the full text of the agreement on Friday, touting concessions made by its counterparts overseas.

Vance told O’Keefe that Iran agreed to turn over its stockpile of enriched uranium, allow routine inspections of its facilities, and not pursue the creation or purchase of a nuclear weapon.

Former President Obama, who reached a nuclear agreement with Iran in 2015 that President Trump later exited, said he’s “doubtful” that the new deal is “significantly different” than the prior terms Tehran agreed to uphold.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) shared concerns about the deal, noting that “Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming.”

U.S. officials have said Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz permanently without tolls, while Tehran said the agreement is to allow free passage for the next 60 days during another period of negotiations led by Vance.

When asked about the confusion during a Monday appearance on CNBC, Vance said “Well, our expectation is that the strait is gonna be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that’s the sort of thing that we’re gonna figure out in these technical negotiations.”

He later added, “You know that there are a lot of very important details to figure out, that we’re actually gonna sit at the table and discuss together and figure out a path forward on these details.”