appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Khushboo Razdan

Iran should use funds unlocked by Washington to buy US agricultural products, according to Vice-President J.D. Vance, who said on Monday it would help feed the country’s population while making American farmers richer.
Iran has not indicated whether it would accept the terms.
Vance credited US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner with the idea, which he described as a “very, very good, and very classic Trump deal”.
The White House is seeking export markets outside China ahead of the November midterm elections as US farmers – a key constituency for the Republicans – continue to suffer the fallout from Trump’s tariff war with Beijing.
Speaking ahead of his departure from the Swiss Burgenstock resort, where he led the US delegation for this weekend’s round of talks with Iran, Vance said it was “a very interesting solution”.
He added: “If Iranian assets are ever unfrozen, they’re going to go to make American farmers richer and to feed the Iranian people.”
He said “we have approval over that process [of freeing the assets]”.
He continued: “The Qataris have approval over that process, and then the money would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
Some US$100 billion in Iranian assets, mainly from oil sales, have been frozen around the world as a result of US sanctions tied to Tehran’s nuclear programme and support for militant groups.
The US and Iran have a 60-day window to reach agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme following last week’s deal to halt fighting “on all fronts”.
Under a 14-point memorandum of understanding, the US will make frozen or restricted Iranian assets available once the final agreement takes effect.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping lane for global oil and gas supplies, which are vital for the production of agricultural products such as fertiliser.
The closure of the waterway has added to the pressure on US farmers, who were already grappling with rising bankruptcies and declining incomes.
Ongoing US-China trade tensions and Beijing’s tighter import controls have further added to the pressure on the sector.
China was once the largest buyer of US soybeans, but orders have largely dried up in the past year or so as Beijing turned instead to farmers in Argentina and Brazil in the wake of the tariff war. This forced many farmers to sell at a loss to intermediaries or pay for costly temporary storage.


Since then, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met twice, most recently in Beijing last month, when the White House said China had agreed to buy 25 million tonnes over the next agricultural cycle.
It also announced China would buy at least US$17 billion annually in other US agricultural products over the next two years.
However, the US Department of Agriculture’s current balance sheet has only recorded 15 million tonnes of booked sales of soybeans.
A USDA flash sales report also listed 13.7 million bushels (each weighing around 27kg or 60lb) that had been sold to unknown destinations. Some of these sales may be destined for China, but this is hard to determine and such sales are often made through intermediaries.
However, the department’s own data also suggested farmers were planning to plant more soybeans and less corn this year in the face of rising fertiliser prices.
To reduce its reliance on China, Washington has been looking for new markets ranging from Nigeria and Indonesia, to India and Bangladesh.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is visiting India this week to discuss a possible trade deal. But agriculture is a sensitive political issue in India and so far the two sides have not been able to reach a final agreement.


Frozen Iranian assets could be used to buy US soybeans in ‘classic Trump deal’: Vance

China’s youth unemployment rate edges down in May as economic strains persist

China defends role in global supply chains amid Strait of Hormuz crisis

Malaysia’s nationwide diesel subsidy gets citizens all pumped up

US-Israel war on Iran

Vance unveiled the proposal before leaving Switzerland on Monday. Photo: Reuters 

The US-Iran deal has bought time, but what remains to be achieved?

A man stops at a newsstand in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday, ahead of the expected US-Iran peace deal signing. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump (left) and US Vice-President J.D. Vance (centre), pictured with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, in Arlington, Virginia, on May 25. Photo: AP

A woman waves an Iranian flag as she chants slogans opposing US-Iran talks, in Tehran on Sunday. Photo: AP

Vance calls Iran deal a ‘win-win’ as Trump lashes out at ‘fools’ who oppose it

US Vice-President J.D. Vance during a press briefing at the White House on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Vessels remain anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Photo: ISNA/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

The new Iran agreement has strained relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

News

China

Diplomacy

US vice-president floated the ‘interesting solution’ – which he said could help feed Iran’s people – following recent talks in Switzerland


US vice-president floated the ‘interesting solution’ – which he said could help feed Iran’s people – following recent talks in Switzerland.


Frozen Iranian assets could be used to buy US soybeans in ‘classic Trump deal’: Vance

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US vice-president floated the ‘interesting solution’ – which he said could help feed Iran’s people – following recent talks in Switzerland

US vice-president floated the ‘interesting solution’ – which he said could help feed Iran’s people – following recent talks in Switzerland