President Donald Trump said Iran will only be able to use funds released from frozen accounts to purchase food and medical supplies from the U.S., seeking to ease concerns about peace negotiations that both sides say are making progress.

The billions of dollars of unlocked financing will go “into escrow, controlled by the U.S.A.” and will be used for the purchase of American-grown products such as corn, wheat and soybeans, Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday.

He added that Iran had agreed to “highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future” in the parallel negotiation over Tehran’s atomic activities, a central part of the discussions to end the near four-month war and keep the critical Strait of Hormuz open.

Oil prices fell lower on Tuesday, with Brent declining 1% to trade near $77 a barrel. It’s down from a high of around $125 in late April and now approaching pre-war levels.

After Trump’s post, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei disputed both notions, saying the funds would be used by his country “freely, in whatever manner it deems appropriate,” rather than being restricted to purchases from the U.S.

Baghaei also rejected Trump’s claims about nuclear inspections, saying “we have neither met with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency nor do we have any plans for the agency to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities.”

The status of inspections is now a case of he said-he said, with Trump later repeating his insistence that Iran had agreed — as both sides continue to frame the negotiations in ways aimed at their domestic audiences.

“They’re wrong,” Trump told reporters when asked about Baghaei’s comments. “They know they’re wrong. They told us inside and we have it down, 100% inspections — and if they were right, I’d cancel the meetings right now.”

Trump said the inspectors would be on the ground “at the appropriate time.”

Iran also said $12 billion of its frozen finances are set to be released as part of ongoing talks, in two equal installments, according to a report by the Mehr news agency that cited Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. The U.S. is yet to confirm how much the Islamic Republic will get.

Trump’s comments underscore the U.S. president’s defensiveness over the deal as it draws criticism, including from defense hawks in his own party.

His insistence that released funds would go to U.S. agricultural products could appeal to U.S. farmers — a key political constituency for Trump and Republicans — who they will need to energize ahead of the November midterm elections, particularly in large swaths of the Midwest and South.

Some critics of the memorandum of understanding signed last week fear the Islamic Republic instead will use the money to rebuild its armed forces and continue to support militant groups such as Hezbollah.

Despite the back-and-forth, Trump said talks were “going well,” echoing broadly optimistic comments from the various parties involved.

Plenty of other outstanding issues stand in the way of a firm deal, including over Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel’s ongoing military presence in the south of the country has been cited by Iran as a breach of the agreement, jeopardizing the talks. Iranian officials have said the U.S. is also responsible for Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

A fifth round of U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon is taking place in Washington Tuesday, according to the Israeli embassy in the city.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew to the United Arab Emirates as the U.S. seeks to reassure regional allies the interim agreement it signed last week is good for their security and economies.

Rubio will also travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.

The Strait of Hormuz is key to the discussions. Traffic through the vital waterway is increasing, pointing to growing confidence among shipowners and traders about sending vessels through as tensions ease.

While many traders warn it will take months for oil and liquefied natural gas flows through the strait to return to normal, there are growing signs of abundant supplies in the near term, sending prices down.

Iran said Tuesday the Strait of Hormuz is “fully” open to commercial shipping. Tehran’s ambassador in Geneva said and that large volumes of oil have transited the waterway in recent days, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

Exactly what “open” will look like remains unclear. Oman and Iran said they will begin talks on the future administration of the strait, including services to be provided and “costs associated with them in accordance with international standards,” according to a joint statement.

In talks in Switzerland since Sunday, the U.S. and Iran have agreed to set up technical working groups to deal with issues such as unwinding sanctions on the Islamic Republic and curbing its enrichment of uranium. Vance and Iran’s lead negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, left Switzerland on Monday, though lower-level delegates are continuing discussions this week.

—With assistance from John Bowker, Devika Krishna Kumar and Hadriana Lowenkron.

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