U.S. Treasury will oversee frozen Iranian funds when they're released, Bessent says

The Treasury Department will oversee Iranian funds when they are released under President Donald Trump 's interim Iran agreement , Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "A very large percentage of it will go to buy U.S. foodstuffs and medicines," Bessent said, repeating what the president had said about how the unfrozen funds will be spent. The administration's pledge has already run into a competing account from Tehran. Iranian officials on Tuesday rejected the idea that Washington or its partners would dictate how Iran spends unfrozen assets, saying any agricultural purchases would be based on price and quality rather than U.S.-imposed terms. That disagreement underscores a central question hanging over the deal: whether Treasury will have direct legal control over the money once it is released, or whether the U.S. is describing conditions it hopes to enforce through foreign banks, escrow accounts and sanctions pressure. Bessent said the unfrozen funds would be overseen by Treasury in the Middle East, suggesting the administration is trying to place guardrails around one of the most politically sensitive pieces of the agreement : Iran's access to frozen assets. Bessent said the initial money would likely be released from Qatar , with Treasury officials in Doha overseeing how the funds are allocated. He said the arrangement would "recycle" the money back into U.S. products. …