US, Iran at odds on nuclear inspections, frozen assets in deal to end war

LOWER MACUNGIE TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania/DUBAI - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity,” while Tehran said it had made no such concession in negotiations, raising questions about the viability of their fragile peace deal.

The two countries, which held a first round of negotiations in Switzerland that ended on Monday, also offered conflicting accounts about financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon - all major aspects of the framework deal they signed last week that aims to end the war.

Nevertheless, Trump said negotiations were going smoothly with Iran. “We’re getting along quite well,” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. also relaxed travel restrictions on Iran’s World Cup soccer team, allowing the squad to travel from Tijuana, Mexico, to Seattle two days before its next match instead of one.

In signs of withering domestic support for the war, Trump’s poll numbers weakened while the Republican-controlled Senate defied the president and voted to halt the war, in a largely symbolic move that highlighted fissures in his party.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 35% of Americans think the U.S. is now in a weaker position with Iran than it was before the war, while 23% believe it is in a stronger position. 

The Senate vote of 50-48 endorsed a resolution that passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump’s Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28.

It was the first time both chambers of Congress had passed a resolution directing a president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities under the War Powers Act, though it was not immediately clear how the votes might affect the conflict.

Rescuing seafarers

Though prospects for a lasting peace are far from certain, the initial agreement between Washington and Tehran has allowed traffic to flow again through the strait, which typically handles one-fifth of global energy supply.

Oil prices on Tuesday were at their lowest level since before the war began, and the United Nations’ shipping agency said a it was working to evacuate 11,000 seafarers stranded when Iran closed the strategic waterway.

The agreement calls for Iran to allow traffic to flow freely for 60 days, but Iran has said it might impose tolls or other fees on shipping after that point.

Iran and Oman, which controls the other side of the strait, issued a joint statement on Tuesday stressing their “sovereign rights” in the waterway and saying they would work together to manage traffic, along with associated costs. 

Oman said it had coordinated with the International Maritime Organization to provide a temporary maritime corridor for vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Gulf allies unsettled by the peace deal, said Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls in the strait as part of any final agreement. 

The deal calls for an immediate end to the war, including in Lebanon, lifting U.S. sanctions on Tehran and unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad. It also outlines a $300 billion investment fund for the Islamic Republic’s reconstruction.

At odds over nuclear inspections, frozen assets

The framework itself imposes no limits on Iran’s nuclear program, a subject to be tackled in 60 days of negotiations.

Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to allow international inspectors indefinite access to its damaged nuclear sites. 

“Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” Trump said on social media.

Iran denied it had discussed its nuclear program at the talks and said it had not agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back to the country.

The two sides also disagreed on details of a provision that would give Iran access to funds that have been frozen in overseas accounts.

Trump said any unfrozen assets would be used to buy food and medical supplies from the U.S., while Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said Iran would decide how to spend that money.

Washington has already agreed to waive sanctions on Iran for 60 days, allowing Tehran to sell oil and related products and receive payment for them.

Lebanon-Israel talks

Lebanon and Israel began a new round of talks on Tuesday in Washington, with Beirut determined to press ahead with direct negotiations even as they appear to be overshadowed by Iran’s decision to make Lebanon part of its talks with the U.S.

Lebanese officials have insisted that face-to-face negotiations with Israel are the only way to secure an end to the war raging since March 2, when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of Iran and triggered Israeli air and ground attacks that have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon. 

But four rounds of Lebanese-Israeli talks since April have failed to produce a durable ceasefire.

Instead, the longest lull in fighting came this week after Iran and the U.S. agreed a memorandum of understanding that stipulated fighting would halt across all fronts, including Lebanon. 

That deal buoyed Iran-backed Hezbollah and dealt a blow to the Lebanese state, whose leaders, including President Joseph Aoun, had repeatedly warned that Tehran cannot negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf.

“Today, and in the coming days, we embark on a new round of talks, which we hope will be decisive in achieving what we desire for the good of our nation and our people,” Aoun said in a post on X on Tuesday.

A State Department official said the negotiations would involve military and political delegates from each country and aimed to “advance a comprehensive peace and security agreement between the two countries.”

“Our shared goal is to end the cycle of violence for good. We are enabling Israel and Lebanon to negotiate as two sovereign states and to find a way to have peace and security,” the official said.

But a Lebanese official and two foreign officials working on Lebanon told Reuters the Iran-U.S. deal had pulled the rug out from under the Lebanese state, leaving it in its weakest position yet and throwing into question the utility of its talks with Israel.

The Lebanese official was skeptical that any tangible progress would come out of the negotiations, which are set to last for three days. 

“There remains a fundamental problem of trust between us and the Israelis in these talks. We cannot fulfill their demands, and they reject all of ours,” the official said. 

Lebanon has said that one of its key goals in the talks would be securing an Israeli military withdrawal, but top Israeli officials have said that troops would remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely. 

Aoun said on Tuesday Lebanon would “accept nothing less than the complete end of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the simultaneous collapse of all foreign tutelage,” in an apparent reference to Tehran. 

The Lebanese official said that Beirut would demand Israel present a “reasonable” timetable for its withdrawal at this week’s talks, describing it as “the only chance we have to generate momentum in these talks, and in this tug-of-war with Iran.” 

Israel, meanwhile, sees the purpose of the upcoming talks as “disarming Hezbollah and achieving a genuine peace agreement” with Lebanon, according to a briefing by Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer on the eve of the new negotiations. 

Mencer said the only impediment to a deal with Lebanon was Hezbollah, “which is why we believe that they should be disarmed and dismantled.”

The Lebanese government has moved carefully since 2025 to disarm Hezbollah without confronting the group directly, fearing it would spark a civil conflict. 

Hezbollah has rejected disarming in full and has called on the government to withdraw from its direct talks with Israel. 

Aoun first proposed direct talks in March but they only began in mid-April, after the U.S. announced a ceasefire to enable a diplomatic process that Washington said would ultimately lead to a peace deal. 

Fierce fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed deeper into Lebanese villages.

The U.S. announced a new ceasefire initiative in early June again as part of the Lebanese-Israeli talks, but it was contingent on Hezbollah halting fire and was rejected by the group

Hezbollah expects Iran to demand an Israeli withdrawal as it pursues talks with the U.S. on a final deal, and says the Lebanese government should bet on that track instead of its direct negotiations. 

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.