A preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran may include a $300 billion reconstruction fund, The New York Times reported May 28.
An Iranian official told the outlet that the “nonaggression pact” includes a U.S.-facilitated “international investment fund” for the country’s redevelopment. Other officials contacted by The New York Times (NYT) would not confirm an amount.
“This proposal appears to be an iteration of an earlier idea floated by Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Both are real estate investors, and some mediators said they had suggested promoting real estate projects in Tehran and an investment fund in the event a deal was reached,” the NYT reported.
Trump appointed Steve Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East in November 2024. Kushner began to assist Witkoff in late 2025 amid U.S.-led negotiations between Israel, Hamas and other Middle Eastern states.
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” the president wrote in a Friday post to Truth Social.
“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” the post reads. “Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to. I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination.”
Trump launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini and other Iranian officials. Peace negotiations began early April alongside a ceasefire agreement.
“Iranian officials said they had proposed to American negotiators that U.S. companies, including major oil and energy corporations, could enter Iran for investments and joint venture deals,” the NYT reported.
The Trump administration previously invited U.S. energy companies to invest in Venezuela after Operation Southern Spear resulted in the successful arrest of then-president Nicolás Maduro.
“The Iranian official described it [the investment fund] as a ‘reconstruction program’ that would be promised to Iran in the event a final agreement was signed,” the NYT reported. “Earlier in the negotiations, Tehran had demanded reparations for bombardment damage that some Iranian officials estimate at $300 billion to $1 trillion.”
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