Iran Denies President Trump’s Claim That Unfrozen Sanctioned Funds Will Be Used To Buy U.S. Crops

Iran appears to be pushing back against President Trump.

On Tuesday in a post on Truth Social President Trump shared, the U.S. Treasury Department would release sanctioned Iranian funds into an escrow controlled by the U.S. which in return Iran would be allowed to use the funds to buy crops from American farmers.

On Thursday at a White House event featuring famers across the United States, Trump offered similar remarks again but Iran has since responded and denied they will use any future unfrozen funds to buy U.S. crops.

CBS News covered the claims from both sides:

President Trump said once again that Iran is expected to buy U.S. wheat, corn and soy — a claim a top Iranian negotiator has denied.

“All over the world, we’re opening up markets for the farmers,” the president said Thursday at a White House event with farmers. “And we have another one, a new market coming up, and that’s called the lovely country of Iran.”

The president continued during the Rose Garden event: “We’re going to be taking some of their money and we’ll spend it, and we’re going to be buying wheat, soybeans and corn. A lot of it. And that process is going to be starting pretty soon.”

Mr. Trump made a similar announcement Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that any sanctioned Iranian funds released by the U.S. Treasury will be “used for the purchase of food and medical supplies, exclusively from the United States.” He framed the plan as a win for American farmers.

But Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has helped lead negotiations with the U.S., called that claim false in a social media post Thursday.

“The only crop we’re harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust. It’s organic, abundant, and homegrown,” Ghalibaf wrote.

Here was Trump’s remarks:

Trump to Farmers: We have a new market coming up, and that's called The Lovely Country of Iran. It's a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there? They're having a hard time with food and we're going to be taking some of their money and we'll spend it and we're going to be… pic.twitter.com/k2IUXVDZsD

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 25, 2026

Vice President JD Vance offered similar remarks in Switzerland earlier in the week:

.@VP says the negotiating team accomplished a "classic Trump deal" in Switzerland.

"Where IF Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they're going to go to make American farmers richer, and to feed the Iranian people… that's great for our people, great for the people of Iran, and… pic.twitter.com/C2KmCPvTob

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 22, 2026

And Iran’s response:

BREAKING: Iran's Speaker of the Parliament says President Trump "falsely claims" that unfrozen Iranian assets will buy US agriculture products.

"The only crop we're harvesting is what you planted: decades of mistrust. It's organic, abundant, and homegrown," he says. pic.twitter.com/66998rxnCG

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 25, 2026

ABC News reported Iran’s denial may be due to the fact they don’t want to disrupt their relationships with their current crop suppliers:

Joseph Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said Iran was unlikely to abandon its other trade partners on food.

Iran’s major suppliers include Brazil, India, Turkey, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Argentina, he said. Trump’s demand to buy from the U.S. would “create some hard feelings with some of our competitors.”

Under previous sanctions, the U.S. has required that money foreign countries spend on imports from Iran — such as South Korean purchases of oil and Iraqi purchases of Iranian electricity — be locked in escrow accounts and typically released only if the Treasury approves and if the proceeds go toward “non-sanctionable’’ items such as food and medicine.

What are your thoughts?