Iranians Are Right Not to Trust Trump’: Analyst Highlights Major Obstacle in Talks
Deep mistrust between Tehran and Washington continues to shadow efforts to reach a new agreement, with the status of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets emerging as a central point of contention, according to a researcher at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Muhanad Seloom, from the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, says a major sticking point in the US-Iran negotiations is the $24bn in frozen Iranian assets that the United States holds.
If Iran will surrender its highly enriched uranium, “it wants something back, and I think that’s money”, he told Al Jazeera.
“Money could do it if the US decides to give Iran enough money to persuade it. [Trump] would rather have a deal by pressure, not by going back to war. But the war option is still on the table. The US still has its [military] assets, they still could strike even after a deal,” said Seloom.
“By the way, they did that before, and the Iranians are right not to trust the Trump administration.”