Iran attacked a cargo ship near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s answers came days after statements by President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that a temporary peace deal that would lead to a cutoff of Iranian supplies would be beneficial to American farmers.

The comments came as Trump faced criticism from some Republican lawmakers over his handling of the war against Iran and the memorandum of understanding.

“America is lying that our frozen goods will buy agriculture. Interesting,” Ghalibaf wrote in the X post.

“The only harvest you reap is what you sow: decades of mistrust,” Ghalibaf wrote. “It’s natural, abundant, and home grown. But apparently the US only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talk.”

The White House, when asked for comment, provided a statement from an American official, who said, “No frozen funds have left the channel and no frozen funds will leave the channel unless Iran meets the requirements defined in the MOU. [memorandum of understanding].”

“As the MOU says, the United States must approve how the funds are used,” said the official. “As Vice President JD Vance announced this week, if Iranian assets are released, they will be used to buy American agricultural products to feed the Iranian people.”

Trump, in a social media post on Tuesday, wrote: “Money and/or Sanctions released by the US Treasury go into escrow, controlled by the USA, and will be used to purchase food and medical supplies, from the United States only, including Corn, Wheat, and Soybeans for our major American farmers.”

Bessent, during an interview Wednesday with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” backed up that claim, saying the Treasury Department would oversee Iranian funds if they were issued.

“A very large percentage of it will be buying US food and medicine,” Bessent said.

Iran has repeatedly denied those claims.

Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said any agricultural purchases would depend on “prices and quality,” and not on conditions set by the US, the Associated Press reported.

“It is interesting that the philosophy and the purpose of the war, which was the destruction of Iranian civilization and the fall of Iran, has become rich in American farmers,” said Baghaei.

The White House on Wednesday asked Congress to authorize nearly $88 billion in funds to cover costs associated with the war against Iran and for American farm aid and the response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

This request was immediately opposed by the Democratic Congress.

Also on Wednesday, in a late-night vote, the Senate rejected a resolution intended to give Congress the authority to stop the war. The vote came a day after the Republican-controlled Senate passed a similar measure.

The reversal came after a closed-door meeting Trump had with Senate Republicans, two of whom reversed their earlier votes: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who changed his vote to “no” on the resolution, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who changed his vote from “yes” to “present.”

Also on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran wants to gain billions of dollars through tariffs on security, safety and natural resources in the Strait of Hormuz.

The newspaper said that Iran is advancing that idea by proposing that its Persian Gulf neighbors share in the profits from these services.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump have categorically rejected the idea that vessels passing through the strait are subject to tolls or tolls.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most critical oil shipping bottleneck. 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption passed through the road before the US and Israel began their war with Iran in late February.

Under the 60-day agreement that halted that war, Iran cannot charge ships on the road during that time.