Trump Rules Out Sanctions Relief Before Iran Deal, Signals Assets Could Follow Agreement (opens in new tab)

Trump flatly rejected Iran's demand for early sanctions relief in an NBC interview Sunday, saying asset releases come only after a deal — a collision with Tehran's insistence on $24 billion in frozen funds as a precondition for any agreement. The gap between the two positions, on sequencing as much as substance, is now the central obstacle in talks mediated through Pakistan.