- U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that peace talks with Iran were a win for U.S. farmers Tuesday, saying that sanctioned Iranian funds, once unfrozen, will be used to buy American-grown corn, soybeans and wheat.
- “These are things that are desperately needed by Iran,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “This is a humanitarian crisis, and I feel it is necessary to help.” But critics, and Tehran, pushed back on the claim that Iran will buy U.S. farm products.
- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said that Iran has no immediate need for U.S. crops and will make import decisions based on price and quality, not external pressure. “It is interesting that the philosophy and goal of the war, which was the destruction of the Iranian civilization and the collapse of Iran, has become enriching American farmers,” Baghaei said.
- Joseph Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said it was “unlikely” that Iran would abandon its trade partners for America. He said Iran’s major suppliers include Brazil, India, Turkey, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Argentina and that Trump’s demand would “create some hard feelings with some of our competitors.”
- Iran’s ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, also questioned Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that the U.S. and Qatar would have to approve how Iran uses unfrozen funds. “Iran is the only country who decides what to do with those assets,” Bahreini told reporters.
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