Iran is disputing the U.S. account of a developing agreement, deepening fears that talks could collapse. While President Donald Trump said unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy humanitarian goods from the United States, Iran's UN ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said Tehran itself will decide how to spend the money.
The dispute comes even though Washington has already agreed to lift some economic sanctions on Iran for 60 days. That easing is meant to let Iran sell oil and related products on international markets and receive direct payment, but the exact terms for unfreezing the accounts remain a major sticking point between the two sides.
Another flashpoint is nuclear monitoring. Iran is rejecting reports that it agreed to resume oversight of its nuclear program during the talks, and says the nuclear issue was not discussed. Tehran also denied giving consent to the return of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite Trump's claim on social media that Iran had agreed to "full and complete" nuclear inspections "for a very long time to the future (Infinitely!!!)".
A third obstacle is the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bahreini said any agreement requires Israel to withdraw its forces from the area, while Israeli officials continue to say they will keep a security zone in southern Lebanon.
