DUBAI — A massive $300 billion private investment fund is embedded in the framework agreement between the United States and Iran, and more than half of that money has already been committed, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the deal who spoke to Reuters.
The fund is intended to give both nations a financial reason to push through to a final agreement, the source said, speaking anonymously because the plan had not yet been publicly announced as both sides prepared to sign on Friday.
U.S. and Iranian officials announced Sunday that they had reached a framework to end their war — which began when American and Israeli forces struck Iran on February 28 — halt the U.S. naval blockade of Iran, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for the world’s oil and gas supply.
The fund is structured as a private investment vehicle, not a government aid or reparations program. No public money or grants will be involved, the source said. Companies from the United States, Gulf Arab nations, Asia, South America, and Africa have already pledged financing, with commitments spanning the energy, logistics, manufacturing, and transportation sectors.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had originally pushed for $400 billion in compensation for war damages, but Washington refused. The idea for what is now being called the Reconstruction and Development Fund grew out of those stalled negotiations.
Under the proposed structure, regional countries would participate in various ways — through loans, credit lines, or direct funding to rebuild sites damaged during the conflict. Among the facilities cited are the Mobarakeh Steel complex, refineries, airports, and broader infrastructure destroyed in the war.
Iran is one of the Middle East’s largest economies but has attracted virtually no significant foreign investment over the past four decades, having been shut out of global capital markets by repeated rounds of U.S. and international sanctions. The country holds the world’s second-largest proven natural gas reserves and fourth-largest proven oil reserves. It also has a young and educated population of more than 92 million, a diverse industrial base, and significant untapped potential in sectors including petrochemicals, mining, tourism, and agriculture.
The source stressed that the investment fund is completely separate from ongoing negotiations over lifting U.S. sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad, describing the two as distinct financial mechanisms with different purposes and timelines.
The fund will not be established or begin operating until a final, satisfactory agreement is signed. The memorandum of understanding, once executed, is designed to structure the next 60 days of negotiations.
