U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) was asked about the U.S. concessions President Trump agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran, including the $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, which Trump said will be funded by Iran’s neighboring Gulf Arab states – not by the U.S.
[NOTE: Paragraph six of the MOU reads: “The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least U.S.D. 300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”]
On Fox News, Sen. Hawley said: “It remains to be seen whether we will actually give them any money. I thought I heard the president say earlier today we’re not gonna give them a dime. I certainly don’t think we should.” Hawley said he believes the President and Vice President JD Vance “will hold that line.”
HAWLEY: It remains to be seen whether we will actually give them any money. I thought I heard the president say we’re not gonna give them a dime.
KIMLEADE: But senator, they are allowed to sell oil for the first time in decades on the open market. pic.twitter.com/5rVL6z0Z2l
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 17, 2026
Fox News star Brian Kilmeade replied to Hawley addressing another concession in the deal: “But Senator, they are allowed to sell oil. And they have more oil than just about everyone including Iraq. And that’ll be the first time in decades they’re able to sell oil on the open market,” and to U.S. “rivals” including China.
[NOTE: The MOU says the U.S. undertakes to “terminate all types of sanctions” against Iran (paragraph 7), reversing a situation where, as The New York Times described, “U.S. sanctions have forced Iran to send a vast majority of its oil to China, selling the fuel at a steep discount,” as “Chinese refineries have been among the few businesses willing to take the risks associated with violating American policy.”]
Hawley replied with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz’s idea of using escrow accounts for oil payments “to make sure they’re living up to their other obligations under the memorandum before we release any of that sales, before we allow them to get their hands on that money.”
[NOTE: The MOU does not mention escrow accounts. As conservative national security policy expert Rebeccah Heinrichs told Kilmeade (on a separate Fox News segment): “I’m concerned that we would permit the Iranians access to their oil when as we relieve this blockade. They would essentially have billions of dollars back into the IRGC coffers. I know the Vice President continues to say this will be conditions-based. But as far as I can tell, this isn’t even being put in escrow accounts to trap it, to make sure the IRGC complies. We have no reason to believe that they will. So they will be flooded with cash almost immediately.”]
TODAY: Trump to wrap G7 after securing Iran deal pic.twitter.com/Eeaid3eE9w
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) June 17, 2026
Heinrichs added: “I think, the fact that once you release sanctions you really lose your leverage to enforce what we want on removing and dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.”
She added, “Remember, Iran has not changed…it’s devoted to the Islamic Republic, and we should not be giving any economic relief until this regime is gone, or demonstrates completely different behavior.”
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence also voiced concern. He said the MOU was “much bigger than a mistake.” Pence added, “These immediate concessions, particularly sanctions waivers right out of the gate, that would essentially be a lifeline to the Iranian regime, I think, is ill-advised. We ought to keep the pressure on, keep the blockade on, and if need be, let our armed forces get back to work.”
[NOTE: At the G7 summit, where Trump ceremoniously signed the MOU on Wednesday, he sought to downplay concerns and warned, “It’s a memorandum of understanding…if it doesn’t get done in 60 days, that’s all right, we go back to bombing.”]