Trump Again Threatens Iran Over Compliance with Temporary Agreement
US President Donald Trump has once again issued a threat against Iran. “If Iran doesn’t make a deal, or if they don’t behave well, I will do what I have to do,” Trump told reporters on Monday (22/6) local time.
Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a temporary US-Iran agreement last week, more than three months after the US and Israel attacked Iran, and Iran retaliated with strikes against Israel and Gulf states.
On Monday (22/6), technical negotiations between Iran and the United States concluded in Switzerland. It was decided that negotiating groups would be formed to discuss nuclear issues and sanctions, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday (23/6).
The negotiators “decided that four working groups will be formed: Sanctions Relief, Nuclear Affairs, Economic Reconstruction and Development, and Monitoring and Implementation,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, according to AFP on Tuesday (23/6/2026).
One of the agreed points involves the return of Iran’s frozen assets. Trump stated on Monday (22/6) that Iran should use the unfrozen funds exclusively to purchase food from the United States. However, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati as reporting that Tehran is not obligated to buy agricultural inputs from the US under the current memorandum of understanding.
“All of that money will come back in the form of food purchases that they desperately need. They have 91 million people, they can’t feed their people. So, the money that we unfreeze will be given to our farmers,” Trump said, as reported by Al Arabiya and Reuters on Tuesday (23/6/2026).
Hemmati stated that the remaining frozen funds do not have to be used solely for essential goods and can be sent to purchase other non-sanctioned items, Tasnim reported.
The US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. The Iran war has also shaken global markets and driven up global oil prices.