Israel is ramping up pressure on the United States to ensure that no Iranian assets get unfrozen as part of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations. The lobbying effort targets what has become the single most contentious issue in talks that have dragged on for months: who gets paid, how much, and when.

Iran wants access to roughly $24 billion of its frozen funds. Israel wants that number to stay at zero. And sitting in the middle, the Trump administration is trying to use those frozen assets as leverage without actually giving any of them up.

The money at the center of the standoff

As of June 12, 2026, Israeli sources confirmed an active campaign urging the US not to include any provisions for unfreezing Iranian assets in a potential deal. Iran, for its part, has proposed an initial release of $12 billion as a trust-building measure, roughly half of the $24 billion it’s seeking. That $24 billion itself is just a fraction of Iran’s total blocked assets, estimated between $100 billion and $120 billion globally.

The assets under discussion are primarily held in foreign banks. Qatar National Bank alone reportedly holds more than $6 billion in Iranian funds. The negotiations also touch on oil sanctions and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly a fifth of the world’s petroleum passes.

President Trump has stated that any asset release will only follow a verified and lasting ceasefire agreement. A ceasefire has technically been in place since April 7, 2026, mediated primarily by Pakistan and extended multiple times. Qatar has also played a mediating role.

The crypto enforcement angle

While diplomats negotiate over traditional bank-held assets, the US has been conducting a parallel campaign in the digital asset space. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed the seizure of approximately $1 billion in Iranian-linked crypto assets in May 2026.

That figure came on top of $344 million in crypto assets frozen earlier in April. Combined, US authorities have targeted roughly $1.3 billion in digital assets connected to Iran in just two months.

Sanctions remain in full force, and crypto has become a key vector for enforcement because sanctioned nations have increasingly turned to digital assets to move money outside traditional banking channels.