Trump to return Iran’s frozen funds to protect dollar

At the G7 summit in France, President Donald Trump told reporters the United States will return Iranian funds that had been frozen rather than keep or seize them. He warned retaining the assets would damage global confidence in the U.S. dollar.

Trump drew a distinction between paying Iran and releasing assets Washington had frozen. He said he had considered keeping the funds but decided against it, telling attendees, “It is not our money. It is their money. And we froze it at a certain point in time.” He added, “If we did not get back, no one would ever invest in the dollar again,” and also stated, “The dollar has become very strong under me.” He emphasized the U.S. would not be directly financing Iran.

U.S. officials say the government has seized about $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency holdings as of late May. Officials describe irregular and rapid transfers involving digital assets and estimate some accounts moved hundreds of millions of dollars monthly. Those seizures are part of efforts to disrupt revenue streams Washington links to sanctioned Iranian activity.

Advocates of decentralized digital assets point to the risk of asset seizure as a reason to hold borderless stores of value such as Bitcoin. Public examples of freezes or seizures are cited in arguments that a neutral, decentralized asset can protect holdings from state action.

Legal and diplomatic processes will govern the final disposition of the frozen funds. U.S. officials say earlier seizures targeted funds linked to Iranian networks, including cryptocurrency transactions. How and when specific accounts are returned, and whether releases will be conditional on Iranian behavior, remain matters for negotiation and legal review.

Trump framed the decision as aimed at protecting the dollar’s standing rather than as a concession to Iran.