WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he "will do what I have to do" if Iran fails to stick to its agreement with Washington or is not behaving as expected.
The statement was made in the Oval Office at the White House. The remarks followed an event where President Trump signed an executive order regarding Quantum Computing on June 22, 2026.
Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly signed an interim U.S.–Iran deal last week. This signing occurred more than three months after reported attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, followed by retaliatory attacks from Iran against Israel and Gulf states with U.S. bases.
Trump noted that money being unfrozen under the agreement was supposed to be used exclusively for food purchases from the United States.
The President stated there are 91 million people in Iran. He said the unfrozen funds would go toward purchasing food they "desperately need" for American farmers, adding, "All that money's coming back in the form of purchases of food which they desperately need." Trump explained, "They have 91 million people, they can't feed them. So, the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers," according to his remarks.
In response, Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said Tehran is not obligated to purchase agricultural inputs from the United States under the current memorandum of understanding.
Hemmati spoke via Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. He stated that the remaining frozen funds will not necessarily be used solely for essential goods, according to reports citing his comments.