By Reuters — June 7, 2026
President Donald Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press that he would not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift sanctions until a formal peace agreement is secured. Asked whether such steps could follow a deal, Trump said they would: “Comes after. Yeah. If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking. Yeah.”
In the interview recorded Friday, Trump said he was not insisting that Lebanon be included in any short-term arrangement with Tehran. “I think they’d like to see it, but I’m not demanding,” he told the program.
Trump reiterated that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began Feb. 28 and said the administration has been working for weeks on a potential peace deal. “We’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them,” he said, linking diplomacy and the threat of further force.
He also said he would be willing to speak directly with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since reportedly being wounded in U.S. strikes early in the conflict. “I don’t want to say whether or not I know where he is, but there’s a good probability that I do,” Trump said.
Senior administration figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have told lawmakers that a temporary ceasefire remains in place despite recent U.S. strikes, describing those actions as defensive. The White House continues to frame financial relief and sanctions relief as bargaining chips to be used only after a negotiated settlement is reached.