Key facts
- A senior US official criticized hardliners in Washington for opposing the Iran deal.
- The official accused opponents of selectively trusting Iranian state-linked messaging.
- US officials stated that frozen assets would only be released upon Iran fulfilling concessions.
- The agreement's text is expected to be released within 24 to 48 hours.
A senior US official has criticized "hardliners" in Washington who oppose the agreement reached with Iran, accusing them of treating Iranian state-linked messaging as fact when it suits their argument.
During a briefing on the Iran deal, the official stated, "One thing that I found to be the most comical is that you have a lot of people who are the hardliners [in the US] who say you can’t trust the Iranians — that they’re always going to lie. And then they take all the stuff put out in the IRGC channels as gospel."
Washington has pushed back against Iranian state-linked media reports suggesting Tehran will immediately receive sanctions relief. US officials clarified that frozen assets will only be released if Iran follows through on concessions during nuclear talks expected over the next two months.
"What you’re seeing now is hardliners on both sides. In the Iranian system, they’re protesting [against the deal]. And we have certain people in the American system who say there’s no deal you could ever do with Iran ever, who are obviously making a lot of noise," the senior US official said.
The official added that all the details of the agreement have not been put out yet, and the text would likely be released within 24 to 48 hours.