Trump Rejects Claims of $300 Million Iran Payment, Says Tehran Will Never Get a Nuclear Weapon

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night rejected allegations that a memorandum of understanding with Iran would give Tehran $300 million with no strings attached. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that “Iran agreed it will never possess nuclear weapons,” and added that the claim the United States is paying Iran $300 million is “fake news.” The denial comes as the emerging deal faces sharp criticism in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties are questioning its terms.

Vice President JD Vance told CNN that several key issues are still unresolved and will be handled during the technical negotiation stage. He said the memorandum creates a framework under which Iranians will receive the benefits of the deal by meeting their commitments. Vance added that the first clause says Iran, like the United States, is committed to peace and regional stability, and that Tehran must stop funding violent terrorist groups and regional instability.

Congressional resistance is also building. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, said he is concerned that Iran interprets the agreement differently from the American negotiating team. Graham said any nuclear deal with Iran will be submitted to Congress for review and a vote. Republican Senator James Lankford also told NBC that it would be “better” for Congress to vote to ratify any possible agreement.

A day after Trump’s announcement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a special statement to Israelis, saying, “We saved the State of Israel, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.” He said Israel and its allies had removed an immediate threat of destruction, carried out the largest strike mission, and targeted nuclear scientists, senior figures in what he called a terror regime, and nuclear facilities. He said the most important point was that Israel had been saved from a nuclear annihilation threat. Meanwhile, reports from Iran said many citizens distrust both foreign powers and Trump, see the renewed diplomacy as political theater at the public’s expense, and fear any deal that legitimizes the current regime as a betrayal.