The United States and Iran entered peace talks to end the war, but from the first day they issued completely opposite explanations about what they agreed to. The leaders of both countries on the 22nd said there had been progress right after the first day of talks and assessed that the agreement would benefit both sides. But on the 23rd, the next day, local time, they announced different results after leaving the same meeting room over how to handle the entry of international nuclear inspectors and the release of frozen funds, which were the core provisions of the agreement.
The two countries clashed most over the return of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on the 22nd that Iran had agreed to invite the inspectors back. He called this "a major milestone for the American people and the first step to permanently end Iran's nuclear weapons program." Then on the 23rd, a day later, Esmail Baghaei, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, denied the existence of any agreement at a Tehran news conference. He said he had neither met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi nor set any inspection schedule.
As skepticism spread, U.S. President Donald Trump intervened directly. On the 23rd, Trump wrote on his social media that "Iran has fully agreed to the highest-level nuclear inspections forever," adding that "if they had not agreed, there would have been no further negotiations." On the same issue, the United States announced "permanent inspections," while Iran's leadership announced "no schedule at all" at the same time.
The IAEA is a U.N. nuclear watchdog that has inspected Iran's nuclear facilities under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015. However, since the 12-day war with Israel last year to the present, Iran has blocked the IAEA inspection team from entering. The United States is putting the resumption of IAEA inspections forward as the first step toward denuclearization and is emphasizing it as a core condition of the talks. Conversely, Iran is not fixing a specific schedule for resuming inspections. Experts said Iran's leadership is negative about resuming inspections because the moment it opens the bombed nuclear facilities to the outside, the extent of the loss of nuclear capability would be revealed, which could threaten the regime's survival.
Internal power struggles are also at work in Iran's delay of the inspection schedule. In Iran, hard-liners centered on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are currently branding the negotiating team as a "surrender faction to the United States." The anti-Iran government outlet Iran International said on the 15th that "the hardline conservative Paydari Front poured out heated reactions targeting negotiation representatives such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf," and that "the Iranian negotiating team has been forced into a position where it must deny abroad concessions at home."
The two sides have also yet to clear a key hurdle over how to dispose of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium. According to the United States, Iran is estimated to possess 440 kg of uranium enriched up to 60% at present. It takes tremendous effort to raise natural uranium to 20%, but once it reaches around 60%, it can quickly get to 90%, which is weapons grade. The United States has demanded that the entire stock be handed over, while Iran has stood firm on dilution inside the country or storage in a third country. Core issues including the uranium stockpile will be handled separately by a working group during the 60-day negotiation period.
This disconnect was repeated in the unfreezing of frozen assets. The two countries revealed differences over how the assets would be used. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, announced on the 22nd that he had agreed with the United States to unfreeze $12 billion (about 1.84 trillion won) in assets. But the United States did not officially confirm this. Vice President Vance said on the 23rd that "even if Iranian assets are released, Iran will use them to buy U.S. agricultural products," adding that "they will buy corn and soybeans from our farmers." President Trump also wrote that the funds would go into an escrow account controlled by the United States and "be used only to purchase U.S. food and medical supplies."
By contrast, Spokesperson Baghaei dismissed the claim that Iran would be forced to buy U.S. food. He said, "The assets will be released, and Iran will have absolute freedom to use them to buy whatever goods the country needs." Over the same $12 billion, the United States defined it as controlled funds for purchasing U.S. agricultural products, while Iran defined it as our money to be used freely. Al Jazeera, citing experts, said, "The two countries are in a war of nerves over the tags on the money," adding that "the Trump administration, which is seeking the votes of U.S. farmers, and Iran's negotiating team, which would become a target for hard-liners the moment it appears to be yielding to sanctions, are colliding head-on."
Experts said that even amid this war of nerves, a 60-day waiver of oil sanctions would bring immediate practical benefits to Iran, which has suffered under sanctions. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media that day, treating the waiver and unfreezing of assets as a fait accompli, that "the reconstruction plan has begun." Al Jazeera, citing experts, said, "Iran had been selling oil at steep discounts to evade sanctions, but now it can sell at full market prices," adding that "this will be a tremendous boost to the Iranian economy."