How to 'lose money' to Iran becomes one of the key issues in negotiations On June 4th, according to CNN, a US official familiar with the negotiations stated that one of the remaining key sticking points in the US Iran talks is the issue of economic compensation, as Trump is eager to reach an agreement seen as superior to the Obama administration's plan. The official stated that Iran has indicated to the mediator that once both parties reach an agreement on the preliminary memorandum of understanding, they hope to receive some form of economic compensation as soon as possible, rather than delaying it until a future time. But officials in the Trump administration are concerned that unfreezing funds at such an early stage could mitigate economic damage to Iran - which could eliminate, or at least weaken, a key bargaining chip that Washington holds over Tehran. This chip will be crucial for the United States to enter the second phase of negotiations to discuss the specific details of Iran's nuclear program. Trump has made it clear to his team that he hopes any agreement will appear much tougher than the one reached in 2015 and avoid any behavior that could be interpreted as "delivering large amounts of cash" - a statement Trump has used to criticize Obama's decision to provide economic compensation to Iran.