Donald Trump says he would not unfreeze Iran's assets ahead before deal is done

WASHINGTON - ​U.S. President Donald ​Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ "Meet ​the Press" that he would not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift any sanctions before a peace deal is reached.

Trump said he would consider ‌those steps ⁠after ⁠an agreement is done. "Comes after," he said. "Yeah. If they behave, if ​they do a good job, we start talking. Yeah."

Trump also said that ​he was not demanding that Lebanon be a part of a short-term deal with Tehran.


"I think they'd like to ​see it, but I'm not demanding," Trump ⁠said in ‌the interview recorded on Friday.

U.S. and Israeli ​forces began ​strikes on Iran on February 28. The ⁠Trump administration has been trying to negotiate a ​potential peace deal for weeks. "We're very close ​to a deal, or I'm going to blow the hell out of them," Trump told NBC News.

The president also said he would be willing to speak with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen ‌in public since being wounded in U.S. strikes at the beginning of the conflict.

"I don't want ​to say ​whether or not ⁠I know where he is, but there's a good probability that I do," Trump said.

Top Trump administration officials such as ​Secretary of State Marco Rubio insist a temporary ceasefire agreement has been holding up despite recent U.S. strikes on Iran, telling lawmakers last week those are defensive actions.