Trump's $300B Iran investment fund may be 'close to impossible' due to IRGC sanctions law, expert warns

A projected $300 cardinal concern money for Iran included successful the U.S.–Iran memorandum of knowing whitethorn look large ineligible obstacles nether existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions astir whether the program is workable adjacent if some sides determination toward a last agreement.

The memorandum, digitally signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, is aimed astatine ending the warfare and restoring postulation done the Strait of Hormuz. As portion of the 14-point plan, the U.S. agreed to assistance sanctions connected Iran, let Tehran to summation its lipid gross and regain entree to parts of the planetary banking system, among different measures.

But 1 of the astir ambitious parts of the model — a projected $300 cardinal backstage concern money for Iran’s reconstruction and improvement — whitethorn collide with a longstanding U.S. determination that Iran’s operation assemblage is controlled straight oregon indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The contented is not conscionable technical. It goes to whether 1 of the cardinal economical promises of the Trump-Iran model tin realistically beryllium executed nether existent U.S. law. If the $300 cardinal money depends connected concern successful sectors Washington has already identified arsenic IRGC-controlled, experts accidental the medication whitethorn beryllium forced to trust connected impermanent waivers oregon caller licenses — a ineligible operation that could marque semipermanent investors wary and complicate immoderate last deal.

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A projected $300 cardinal concern money for Iran included successful the U.S.–Iran memorandum of knowing whitethorn look large ineligible obstacles nether existing U.S. sanctions law. (Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

The State Department formally determined successful 2020, and again successful May 2025, that Iran’s operation assemblage was controlled straight oregon indirectly by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, known arsenic IFCA, that uncovering creates sanctions risks for radical oregon companies doing concern successful the sector.

Miad Maleki, a elder chap astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a erstwhile Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control executive, told Fox News Digital that the ineligible and sanctions-related problems surrounding the money are much analyzable than simply asking whether Congress would person to o.k. it.

"I deliberation Congress is unavoidable for a durable mentation of that investment," Maleki said. "If we person a last woody and present arsenic portion of this commitment, the U.S. authorities and allies are going to person to spell successful and assistance Iran to acceptable up this money oregon get entree to specified a fund."

Maleki said the president has meaningful unilateral authorization to statesman easing restrictions. Trump could revoke applicable enforcement orders, nonstop the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to contented wide licenses and waive immoderate legislature sanctions laws.

But helium said that does not mean the money would beryllium durable capable to pull superior investors.

"Technically, the money could beryllium switched connected done immoderate benignant of an enforcement enactment program alone, but it would beryllium connected insubstantial and it would person to beryllium renewed each 180 days," Maleki said, referring to waivers for mandatory sanctions tied to Iran’s operation sector.

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An Iranian constabulary serviceman stands connected patrol adjacent a poster depicting Iranian soldiers holding a nett shaped similar the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. subject craft ensnared successful Tehran, Iran, connected May 9, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

"If you’re anyone who is successful an investment-type business, it’s hard to find idiosyncratic who would beryllium investing successful construction-type projects that instrumentality time," helium added. "These projects are not similar 180-day projects."

The concern, Maleki said, is particularly acute successful Iran, wherever investors would look sanctions uncertainty, governmental hazard and an unreliable partner.

"It’s hard to find idiosyncratic who would beryllium investing ... based connected thing that could not conscionable beryllium renewed if Iran, particularly successful the discourse of Iran, wherever you don’t truly person a reliable partner, wherever things tin stroke up immoderate minute," helium said.

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A pistillate walks past a billboard showing a subject manus holding the Strait of Hormuz with Farsi substance which reads, "In Iran's hands forever," "Trump couldn't bash a damn thing," "The power of Strait of Hormuz volition beryllium Iran's forever," successful Vanak Square, successful bluish Tehran, Iran, connected April 16, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

That operation raises a broader question astir whether negotiators were genuinely expecting the memorandum to mature into a final, durable agreement.

"The much I’ve been digging into this memorandum of understanding, sanctions paragraphs of this memorandum, the much I person travel to this benignant of uncertainty that the negotiators truly were counting connected a last woody to beryllium reached," Maleki said.

"If you bash get to a last statement and you’re looking into really gathering the commitments that you made, this $300 cardinal concern fund, it’s not thing you tin truly acceptable up," helium added. "I deliberation it would beryllium astir adjacent to intolerable to get thing that would materialize."

READ IT: THE FULL TEXT OF THE US-IRAN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING:

Iranians pain American flags during an anti-U.S. objection extracurricular the erstwhile U.S. embassy office successful Tehran, Iran, connected May 9, 2018, aft President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran atomic deal. (Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Maleki said 1 imaginable mentation is that the U.S. broadside whitethorn presumption its relation arsenic constricted to providing sanctions relief, portion leaving Iran and imaginable investors to benignant retired whether the money tin really beryllium built.

"We’re going to springiness them the waivers that they need. If they can’t find investors to put successful this, that’s their problem," helium said, describing 1 imaginable presumption of the negotiators’ approach.

The Treasury Department and the Iranian ngo to the U.N. did not instantly respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment.

The contented could go a legislature flashpoint. Because IFCA waivers are constricted to 180 days and necessitate justification to Congress, immoderate semipermanent concern model for Iran could unit the medication to repeatedly support wherefore sanctions tied to an IRGC-controlled assemblage should beryllium suspended.

The ineligible obstacles besides travel arsenic critics pass the pact gives Iran large economical benefits portion leaving immoderate of the astir hard atomic and information questions for aboriginal negotiations. Maleki said the U.S. had already built important leverage implicit Iran done sanctions, subject unit and the blockade, but whitethorn present beryllium trading that leverage for the reopening of Hormuz.

"We reached a constituent that we had leverage that nary U.S. president has ever had with Iran," Maleki said. "Yet we gave that distant for this, for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz."

He argued that Iran is apt to usage the process to hold alternatively than unreserved toward a last agreement.

"Iran is going to spell backmost to its playbook of dragging, buying clip with the sanctions relief-type incentives that I’m seeing successful this package," Maleki said. "I bash not deliberation that the Iranian authorities is going to unreserved to get to a deal."

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A antheral applies caller overgarment to an anti-U.S. mural connected a gathering partition connected Karim Khan Zand Avenue successful Tehran connected April 8, 2025. The mural features the slogan "Down with the USA" and skulls replacing stars connected the U.S. flag. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

John Hannah, a elder chap astatine the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and a erstwhile nationalist information advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, warned that immoderate economical windfall from the statement could assistance the IRGC rebuild.

"It’s astir definite that the IRGC volition usage immoderate economical windfall granted by this MOU to reconstitute arsenic overmuch of their accepted subject arsenic imaginable arsenic accelerated arsenic imaginable — particularly the immense rocket and drone arsenal that the IRGC believes proved captious to the strategical successes they achieved during the war," Hannah told Fox News Digital.