Trump terms $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran as 'fake news'

US President Donald Trump has rejected a report suggesting Washington would pay Tehran a whopping sum of money, calling the claims "Fake News" propagated by the "Dumocrats".

"The story that the U.S. is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Also read: US at odds with allies over how easy it is to reopen Hormuz


The dismissal came after the Financial Times reported that Trump's administration is considering creating a $300 billion fund, aimed at facilitating investment by companies interested in entering Iran, rather than providing money directly to the Iranian government.

A big $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran?

According to the FT report, the proposed fund would be contingent on Iran agreeing to a final settlement to end the conflict, including a nuclear agreement with Washington. A senior US official told the newspaper that the administration had discussed the possibility of sanctions relief and "a big $300bn fund to rebuild their country".

The incentives, the official said, would be linked to Iran's "performance" in adhering to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that is expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday.

Citing a person briefed on the talks, the Financial Times reported that the fund's establishment would follow a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and further negotiations on a nuclear accord. The person added that the money would not come from governments but would instead be created for companies interested in investing in Iran.

"There is interest from a lot of businesses in Europe, a lot in Asia, South Korea, Japan etc, and American companies and businesses as well," the person told the Financial Times. "If the sanctions are lifted, this fund would be a significant amount and it will be huge."

Also read: 'Iran agrees to never have nuclear weapons,' says Trump after signing MoU with Tehran

Sanctions relief in phases

US Vice-President JD Vance also suggested that access to the reconstruction fund would depend on Tehran's compliance with any final agreement. The $300 billion fund would be "the sort of thing [Iran] could have access to . . . so long as they honour their end of the obligation", he told CBS News, according to the Financial Times.

The newspaper reported that any sanctions relief, including the unfreezing of Iranian assets held overseas, would be released in phases and remain dependent on progress in nuclear negotiations and a final settlement. However, senior Trump administration officials indicated that the US could offer "small gestures" of financial relief "in the beginning" as a trust-building measure.

One senior official also stressed that "zero" dollars have flowed to Iran since Trump, Vance and Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, remotely signed the document. Another official said sanctions relief was "not tied specifically to any particular conduct" but rather to Iran "behaving appropriately", adding that "the thing that we care the most about is the nuclear programme".