'$300 Billion' Iran Reconstruction Fund: Who Will Raise It and Where Will It Be Spent?

As reports emerge that the agreement on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war between the United States and Iran includes a plan to establish a $300 billion (453 trillion won) private fund for Iran's reconstruction, attention is focusing on how this fund will be raised and where it will be spent.

According to foreign media reports on June 16 (local time), following the MOU signing ceremony between the U.S. and Iran at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock on June 19, the two countries plan to hold detailed follow-up negotiations for 60 days to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

During this period, the U.S. plans to immediately waive some sanctions on Iran, allowing it to freely export and sell crude oil.

For Iran, which is struggling with economic difficulties, the immediate influx of a significant amount of cash is expected to provide some breathing room.

Broader sanctions relief, including access to frozen assets, is expected to proceed in phases during the 60 days of follow-up negotiations.

The total amount of Iranian assets frozen under U.S. sanctions is around $100 billion (151 trillion won), mostly consisting of past oil sales revenues and reserves.

The U.S. intends to encourage a proactive attitude from Iran regarding the resolution of the nuclear issue by stating that it can provide corresponding "rewards" even for small gestures by Iran.

Recently, even greater attention has been focused on the Iran reconstruction fund, known to be worth $300 billion.

The U.S. maintains the position that it will provide the $300 billion reconstruction fund once the Iranian nuclear issue is finally and smoothly resolved.

This can be seen as offering the largest "carrot" from a long-term perspective to steer Iran in the desired direction.

Rather than direct financial support from specific countries to Iran, the reconstruction fund is primarily expected to take the form of attracting investments from private companies in the Middle East and Asia under the "coordination" of the U.S. government.

The U.S. online media outlet Axios, citing sources, reported that the fund will be a "private investment vehicle" and will not include any U.S. government funds or subsidies.

The reason this fund is of particular interest to South Korea is that South Korean companies were mentioned among those that have promised to contribute capital.

Sources said that companies from the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Africa have already agreed to raise more than $150 billion, mentioning that South Korean companies are included without naming specific firms.

However, the core of this fund's creation is highly likely to be capital from Gulf nations neighboring Iran.

The concept of the $300 billion Iran reconstruction fund was first disclosed in a report by The New York Times (NYT) on May 28.

This was at a time when the U.S. and Iran were in the midst of final negotiations to end the war.

The NYT, citing U.S. officials at the time, reported that the Trump administration had informally requested Gulf nations to support post-war reconstruction funds for Iran, and that Gulf countries were discussing plans to establish a $300 billion investment fund for this purpose.

Axios later reported that Qatar first proposed the fund, and discussions between the U.S. and Iran took place over the following weeks.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance explained in an interview with Fox News that the creation and provision of the reconstruction fund would only proceed if Iran permanently ends its nuclear program, gives up highly enriched uranium, and allows international inspections.

President Trump stated that no U.S. money would be involved.

These remarks all seem to acknowledge the reality of the $300 billion fund.

The expression specified in the agreed MOU between the two countries regarding the $300 billion is reportedly "support for Iran's reconstruction and economic development."

Ultimately, this can be interpreted as President Trump demanding that Gulf nations, which suffered crises such as the destruction of energy facilities and the shaking of their economic foundations due to the war with Iran, make large-scale investments to revive Iran's economy instead of the U.S., as a price for the "peace dividend."

In addition, observations are being raised that this could be a proposal for companies in countries like South Korea and Japan, which are highly dependent on Middle Eastern energy, to invest in Iran in a similar context to help with reconstruction while also generating certain profits.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.