At various points throughout the war when reporting has suggested that a deal with Iran was imminent, Trump and his Fox News propagandists claimed that “no money will exchange hands.” As The Wall Street Journal explained: “The question of financial benefits for Iran is among the most sensitive for Trump’s effort to conclude the war. Trump has excoriated former President Barack Obama for flying cash into Iran after a 2015 nuclear deal went into effect the following January. Trump withdrew from that deal in his first term.”

After details of the memorandum of understanding Trump signed with Iran were circulated to several media outlets, some Fox personalities and guests criticized economic provisions of negotiations while others on the network struggled to defend the deal, attempting to downplay or justify terms that include economic relief for Iran.

Notably, Fox’s early coverage of the war included reviving attacks on Obama for providing economic incentives to Iran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, which was previously scuttled by Trump. Fox figures and guests have repeatedly sought to distinguish the Trump administration’s negotiations from Obama’s deal, with some objecting to any inclusion of sanctions relief or unfreezing of funds for Iran and others attempting to downplay the kind of economic relief they rallied against in the past.

Some Fox figures and guests criticized economic relief provisions in the draft agreement

• Fox contributor Marc Thiessen: The $300 billion reconstruction fund is “a massive amount of money that should never go to the Iranian regime under any circumstances, even if they let us come in and take the dust.” Thiessen also said, “We've lifted sanctions now for them for the sale of oil, including in U.S. dollars. So they are going to get a major cash infusion during the course of this negotiation process, and that money isn't going to go to buy food for the Iranian people. It’s going to go toward the reconstruction and rehabilitation of their regime.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 6/22/26]

• Fox host Mark Levin told his audience that “despite all of the denials, the MOU is a massive cash cow to the Iranian regime.” Levin continued, “We will give the regime $24 billion that we’ve been withholding from them — their money, we’re told it belongs to them anyway. They’re a terrorist group — we don’t give them their money or anybody’s money. … The regime is free to sell oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and in fact will now control the Strait of Hormuz. Nothing stops it. Nothing stops it from controlling it. … What a precedent that’ll set. I'm sure the communist Chinese will be very pleased in the way they’ve tried to control the South China Sea. There’s not a word in this MOU about Iran ending the funding of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, or any other terrorist organization — nothing, zippo. All sanctions against banking and financial and commercial activities are lifted.” [Fox News, Life, Liberty & Levin, 6/21/26]

• On Fox News Live, Hudson Institute senior fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs debunked the claim that Iran must “change … their behavior before they get economic relief.” Heinrichs explained: “First of all, the Iranians clearly predicated their agreeing to this ceasefire on the United States front loading economic benefits to Iran. So one of the things the vice president said was that we're looking for a change in their behavior before they get economic relief. But if you look at the plain reading of the text in provision 10, we, the United States, is waiving sanctions on energy and the attendant ability, banking, to facilitate that economic benefit that's going to go straight to the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. And the IRGC, of course, wants that money immediately because of the success of Operation Epic Fury. They're going to rebuild their ballistic missile program, they’re going to rebuild their air defenses, they’re going to rebuild their drone, and we have not seen a change in their behavior at all.” [Fox News, Fox News Live, 6/20/26]

• Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade complained that the MOU “begins with loosening up sanctions, it begins with them evidently unfreezing $24 billion dollars worth of funds, it begins with $300 billion coming from the Arab fund.” Kilmeade said, “Nobody who has been — had a newspaper delivered to their house at any point believes that Iran will behave themselves. They never have, never will, and the supreme leader is crazier than his dad, who we killed. … Do you think he wants to do a deal with us?” Later, Kilmeade noted, “I have not heard that there are contingencies to the $300 billion. I heard that Qatar sat down for 17 hours with Iran, at which time I'm not sure performance elements were put into that that Iran has to hit.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/17/26]

• Host Trey Gowdy on America Reports addressed a Trump administration talking point that the money would not come from taxpayers, asking, “Are you placated by the fact that the money would come from the Qataris or from Saudi Arabia and not us? It's still going to be used for weapons.” He continued, “And I'm pretty sure that the lifting of the economic sanctions takes place immediately, and I am pretty sure that the removal of the blockade takes place immediately, so look, Iran is a richer country as a result of this MOU and they lost the war.” [Fox News, America Reports, 6/17/26; Fox News, 6/15/26; BlueSky, 6/16/26]

Others on the network attempted to defend the deal by downplaying or justifying the economic benefits to Iran

• Fox host Sean Hannity lauded the deal as “history in the making” and claimed that “Iran will be rewarded with sanctions relief” only if they “uphold the terms of this memorandum.” Hannity explained: “Now, here are the main takeaways: The Strait of Hormuz will be free. It will be clear. There will be no tolls. Iran will never, ever have a nuclear weapon. If they uphold the terms of this working memorandum — although it's not really relevant to what's been going on — Iran will be rewarded with sanctions relief. The choice ultimately will be theirs. If they break the terms, well, President Trump said it pretty well, very clear, unambiguous: Hell will rain down on the IRGC.” In reality, sanctions on Iran’s oil were lifted immediately upon the regime signing the deal, which could give Iran an early “windfall of $8 billion to $9 billion” on “67 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded in the Gulf.” [Fox News, Hannity, 6/17/26; The Wall Street Journal, 6/16/26; CNBC, 6/23/26]

• Host Greg Gutfeld on The Five argued, “They act like Iran won because they're getting money from the gulf states to rebuild? Why are they rebuilding? They got destroyed. So that’s like telling somebody who lost their house and everything in it that they won because Allstate cut them a check.” Fellow Fox host Jesse Watters agreed, saying, “You keep talking about this $300 billion fund. Greg’s right. They're a trillion in the hole. Guess who controls the investment fund? The United States.” [Fox News, The Five, 6/17/26]

• Fox anchor Sandra Smith suggested that the economic damage sustained by Iran was greater than what the country would get from the agreement, concluding, “Something to think about as there is great concern from so many at this time that Iran greatly benefits from this deal.” Smith and co-anchor John Roberts cast further doubt on the existence of the reconstruction fund, with Roberts noting, “The president said there’s no such thing as a $300 billion fund.” [Fox News, America Reports, 6/17/26]

• On The Five, co-host and former Trump press secretary Kaleigh McEnany pushed the economic damage narrative as well: “Last month's inflation rate in Iran was 84%. They desperately need the $300 billion in cash that they seek, which would not be U.S. cash.” McEnany argued, “The strait is indeed a card that Iran holds over the next 60 days, … but a card that President Trump holds is this headline from The Economist: ‘Iran's battered economy will take years to recover from the war.’ Last month's inflation rate in Iran was 84%. They desperately need the $300 billion in cash that they seek, which would not be U.S. cash, I would note.” [Fox News, The Five, 6/19/26]

Fox figures and guests claimed that Iran channeled sanctions relief and unfrozen assets from the 2015 nuclear deal into the regime’s military programs and to terrorist proxies across the Middle East

• On Fox Business, podcaster Benny Johnson called Iran “a terror state funded by Barack Obama.” Johnson argued, “He [Obama] did fund terrorism. Everybody agrees that Iran was a terrorist state. The vast majority of terrorism that happened against American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan — many of these GWOT veterans I know personally, I've heard these stories — they were Iranian bombs. So this is a terror state funded by Barack Obama. So I'll take pallets of bombs over pallets of cash any single day.” [Fox Business, The Evening Edit, 3/3/26]

• Jesse Watters claimed, “Obama gave the Iranians the money to build the missiles they’re shooting at us right now. What a disgrace.” Watters said, “Their ballistic missiles needed to go. They can already reach Europe, and in a few years they could reach New York. Obama gave the Iranians the money to build the missiles they’re shooting at us right now. What a disgrace. [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 3/3/26]

• Sean Hannity asked a guest: “Knowing what we are witnessing here, how do you explain Biden and Obama's approach to Iran, dropping cargo planes of cash and other currency on the tarmac so they can build out the nuclear facilities and other weaponry?” [Fox News, Hannity, 3/4/26]

• Fox host Emily Compagno claimed that funds to Iran under Obama “fomented those radicals over there.” Compagno said: “It was under Obama’s JCPOA that we paid $1.3 billion to Iran in interest alone. The principal was just $400 million. Just. And that somehow is supposed to be divorced from what he's talking about. … There's a lot of machinations behind the scenes that have fomented those radicals over there. And the thought that somehow it was fine or that it wasn't fomenting and there wasn't an absolute daily and constant risk of Americans’ lives and of our allied interest is an absolute lie.” [Fox News, The Five, 3/4/26]

• Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo: Obama gave Iran “money” and “pallets of cash” while “the Iranians have been saying death to America.” Bartiromo asked, “The people who are criticizing President Trump, what have they done? Where have they been in these last 47 years while the Iranians have been saying death to America?” Guest Ashley Davis, a former official in the George W. Bush administration, said, “Well, Obama gave them how much money to build?” Bartiromo agreed, adding, “Money and cash. Pallets of cash to Iran.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria, 4/8/26]

• Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst warned, “We don't know what the final agreement will look like, but the president did tell me they're not going to make the mistakes of the Obama administration in terms of releasing cash to the Iranians that could be used to then funnel back into IRGC military programs, their ballistic missile program, and even whatever is left of the nuclear program.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 4/19/26]

Fox figures also characterized sanctions relief under Obama as a failed attempt to stop Iran from developing a nuclear program

• Fox anchor Harris Faulkner: “I hope they didn't go back to reflexive cash from Biden and Obama and all that because that didn't work.” Faulkner continued, “The Trump administration is approaching the war on Iran's regime from two fronts: the military and what the administration is now calling operation economic fury.” [Fox News, Faulkner Focus, 4/16/26]

• Sean Hannity: ““Administration after administration, they tried, they failed to stop the regime’s nuclear ambitions. Obama, Biden, they tried to bribe the Iranians. They gave them billions in cash and other currency and cargo planes, they lifted sanctions, and did nothing when Iran terrorized our service members around the world. It was one of the worst deals ever in history.” [Fox News, Hannity, 4/17/26]

• Fox News contributor and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway: “Fifty years of diplomacy or pallets of cash or engagement or containment or pushing back, and yet Iran was on the doorstep of nuclear capability. They were on the way to become the next North Korea.” [Fox News, Fox News Sunday, 4/27/26]

• Jesse Watters: “The Iranians realize they’re not dealing with Barack Obama. They’re not going to string us along for two years, John Kerry hands them a check, and they make a promise they know they’ll break.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 5/5/26]

Some Fox figures and guests warned of threats from relieving sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets under a potential Trump deal and stated their opposition to providing economic relief for Iran

• Marc Thiessen said on Fox & Friends that giving Iran “sanctions relief and reconstruction” funds “means that we're going to be giving them a lifeline to revive their regime after we had decimated it.” Thiessen: “The Iranian regime, thanks to all those military strikes, is on its back, and a deal, even a good deal, helps them get up. Because, I mean, right now, we’re opening up the strait. We’re lifting the blockade. That's billions of dollars going into the Iranian regime's coffers without them having done anything. And then apparently we're going to give them sanctions relief and reconstruction, based on performance, but that means that we're going to be giving them a lifeline to revive their regime after we had decimated it.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/15/26]

• Rebeccah Heinrichs argued on America’s Newsroom: “As long as Iranians do not get any relief — there’s no reason for the United States to grant them relief — then we are the ones that have the total military and economic advantage.” Earlier, she remarked that she was “comfortable that the United States can continue to squeeze the regime,” noting, “I think that President Trump also understands that he cannot permit the unfreezing of Iranian resources.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 6/1/26]

• Mark Levin warned of noncompliance from Iran after the Trump administration is no longer in power and “billions flow back into the regime.” Levin asked, “If the Iranian regime violates the deal, what are we going to do about it? What options are on the table that are realistic and that will be used — that are enforceable? Let’s say there's a temporary change in their behavior in exchange for the sanctions relief, and the billions flow back into the regime, and then the regime decides, OK, we have what we want and we will do what we want. Now what are you going to do about it?” [Fox News, Life, Liberty & Levin, 6/14/26]

• Brian Kilmeade said he worried that Iran would “act with impunity” if sanctions were lifted. He said, “The one thing I fear is that we unfreeze the funds. The one thing I fear is that we release the sanctions. I understand move one blockade one way and move the other one. But if you give them the money, you undo the sanctions, they will feel like they won and they will act with impunity.” Kilmeade also claimed that Iran would put any unfrozen funds “right to terror” and that the move would help Iran “rebuild their arsenal” or provide “a lifeline to rebuild.” [Fox News, Special Report, 5/6/26; Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/7/26, 6/3/26, 6/11/26]

• Discussing the war in mid-April, Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane celebrated “the incredible amount of leverage we hold now” and opposed unfreezing Iranian assets. “I would expect the Iranians at some point here are going to come forward and surrender much of what we want — and we should get everything,” he said, adding: “We don't unfreeze their assets. At a minimum it's $27 billion. I think it’s much more than that. Remember, Obama did this over the nuclear deal in 2015, close to $100 billion. Why don’t we do that? We don't want to give them a lifeline. This isn't about face-saving. … We don’t even think about doing sanctions relief until they prove to us over time that their behavior has fundamentally changed. That really is the issue.” [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 4/16/26]

As it became increasingly clear that Iran would negotiate some form of economic relief, Fox figures insisted that Trump’s terms would come with more stringent requirements than the 2015 nuclear deal and pointed to damage caused by the US military campaign

• On Fox & Friends, guest host Lisa Boothe claimed that administration officials “are very aware of not wanting to make a similar deal as the JCPOA — no sanctions relief up front.” Boothe said, “It seems like the administration both on what President Trump said to you and what they’ve said publicly are very aware of not wanting to make a similar deal as the JCPOA — no sanctions relief up front. They want to make sure — we keep hearing ‘no dust, no dollars.’ So essentially if they do nothing, they get nothing.” [Fox New, Fox & Friends, 5/25/26]

• Fox host Kayleigh McEnany: “No dust, no deal. Also no dust, no dollars. You're not going to see pallets of cash on a plane loaded over to Iran … in exchange for a deal that had sunset clauses.” McEnany added, “How do you have a deal to stop nuclear weapons for 10 to 15 years?” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 5/29/26]

• Trey Yingst argued that “what the Trump administration is going to avoid here is the mistake of the Obama administration” by not giving Iran sanctions relief until “they adhere to their end of this deal.” Yingst said: “U.S. officials have been very clear: The Iranians are not going to get any sort of sanctions relief or oil sanctions waivers unless they adhere to their end of this deal. But, if they do, some of those funds are actually tied up in Qatar. And that is the reason that the Qataris are playing this direct role in some of these behind-the-scenes negotiations to understand how these funds are going to be released and the manner in which they are going to do so, because what the Trump administration is going to avoid here is the mistake of the Obama administration, and that was just providing the Iranian regime pallets of cash or unlimited funds that they, according to their own foreign ministry spokesperson yesterday, would channel back into their missile and drone programs.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/26/26]

• Jesse Watters claimed on The Five, “Now, it's not like sending pallets of cash over there like Obama did. It's basically just unfreezing some of their accounts. But that's like peanuts compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars that they have lost because of the sanctions, the blockade, the war. It’s absolutely crippled them.” [Fox News, The Five, 5/26/26]

• Fox host Lawrence Jones said he was “annoyed” when people compared the deal to Obama’s, saying that the JCPOA “gave them a lot of money, you didn’t take out two layers of leadership, you didn’t destroy their navy, and you didn’t destroy their air force and take out many of their missile facilities — I just think that’s dishonest.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 6/15/26]

• Fox & Friends Weekend host Charlie Hurt: “Another big difference between the Obama deal and this deal, if it comes together the way that we think that it will, is that … their missile stockpile has been massively degraded.” He added, “Their missile production facilities, we're not entirely certain about all of that, but they've been, certainly, degraded to a degree that limits — it at least gives you a window where they are far more limited now than they were back when they signed the Obama deal.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 6/14/26]

• Greg Gutfeld claimed “there are some significant differences” in the new deal because Iranians are “barely keeping themselves together” and “their military infrastructure has been demolished.” Gutfeld: “They are trying to say this isn't a significant difference from this agreement. Well there are some significant differences. Most of their leaders are dead. Their military infrastructure has been demolished. They can’t concentrate on exporting terror because they're barely keeping themselves together. So there is a difference here. The deal may sound similar, but you are dealing with an entirely different atmosphere.” [Fox News, The Five, 6/15/26]

• Heritage President Kevin Roberts said on Fox Business that “between the attacks earlier this year and the military strikes over the last several weeks, we’ve made tremendous progress.” Roberts said: “Our point is, at Heritage, that even if you don't get your hands on the dust — as ideal as that is — between the attacks earlier this year and the military strikes over the last several weeks, we've made tremendous progress there. We are lightyears ahead of where we were with the absurd deal that Barack Obama made to drop pallets of billions of dollars on the Iranian people.” [Fox Business, The Big Money Show, 6/15/26]