Why are Saudi Arabia and China backing the $300 billion investment fund?

What he says

An English translation of the talk, which is in Persian. It was made with AI from YouTube's automatic captions and may contain errors; the Persian transcript is authoritative. Click a timestamp to jump to that part of the video.

0:01 Hello. Wednesday, 27 Khordad 1405, June 17, 2026. Finally, the final text of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and America, drafted in 14 articles, has been published by Tehran and Washington. The text is in English and Persian, and it does not differ fundamentally from what the media published during this period, especially what CNN published yesterday, what Bloomberg published, and likewise some domestic news agencies such as Mehr and others. However, the wording and the points it contains are more legal and more precise

1:00 in how they are written. It is said that on Friday Mr. Ghalibaf, or Araghchi, or even Pezeshkian may go to Geneva, and there, depending on who goes, Mr. Trump or Mr. Vance will probably sign the agreement in person as well. It was also said that this published text has already been signed by Mr. Pezeshkian and Mr. Trump in their two countries. The spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry, Mr. Baghaei, stated that this way there is in fact greater assurance that the document has been signed at the highest executive level of the two countries.

1:56 When we go into the text, in summary, Article 1 establishes a ceasefire, in Iran and Lebanon, since Iran had in fact demanded that the ceasefire and peace must also include Lebanon. A 60-day period has been set, which is also extendable, for this memorandum of understanding to be turned into a contract and agreement, which, according to the clauses of this memorandum, will be about the nuclear issue. In fact, issues such as missiles or proxy forces, which Mr. Trump used to talk about at one time, are off the negotiating agenda.

2:52 Other points in this memorandum are that within 30 days America will lift the naval blockade of Iran, and during the same 30 days Iran will also open the Strait of Hormuz and make it safe so that ships can pass. However, it is written that after these 60 days, Iran, in cooperation with Oman and the littoral states of the Persian Gulf — now some say it was phrased as the Strait of Hormuz, but it is written as the littoral states of the Persian Gulf — will put the management arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz up for discussion. Apparently the Islamic Republic is seeking, if

3:47 it cooperates under such a title, for maritime services and likewise environmental protection — in short, under these headings — to collect fees from the ships that pass. Because in any case, levying tolls on an international waterway, even though Iran has not signed the relevant convention on the law of the sea, is illegal and such a thing cannot be imposed, unless that waterway is man-made, like the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal, and the country or countries that built it collect a fee for its maintenance and so on, or a transit and passage fee. Also,

4:42 in this agreement there is the matter of Iran giving a full commitment that it will not pursue a nuclear weapon. Of course, it has given this commitment before too. It has said it many times, but in practice it may not abide by it. The dilution of uranium, at least on Iranian soil, is also included in this memorandum, although American officials are saying this is America's minimum demand, and in the negotiations they will demand that the 400 kilos of uranium, or other enriched uranium above three and a half percent, so to speak, may be required to be taken out of Iran. In any case, these matters have been deferred to the negotiations between the parties.

5:35 Lifting the sanctions on the Islamic Republic and releasing the funds that have been seized by America is another clause, though it is stated that these funds will be released in parallel with progress in, so to speak, Iran's commitments and the contract that is concluded. It is said the figures put forward for Iran's blocked foreign exchange reserves range from 42 or 43 billion dollars up to 60 billion dollars, a large part of which, perhaps 20 to 30 billion dollars, is in China. Another point in this memorandum is its last article, Article 14, which speaks of how, after the final agreement, for

6:30 enforcement guarantee, a binding resolution, so to speak — a binding resolution of the United Nations Security Council — will also back the final agreement. Anyway, going into each of these clauses one by one and examining them is beyond the scope of our discussion. But in my opinion, perhaps one of the most important clauses of this memorandum is Article 6, which in the drafts published in the press was previously Article 7. Article 6 says that a 300-billion-dollar fund will be set up. America will also help so that the money in it is spent on investment in Iran — not necessarily

7:22 spent on rebuilding damage or as compensation. It is said that behind this article, more than anyone, are the Saudis, who have brought the other Persian Gulf countries, except the UAE, along with them, so that in fact a kind of Middle Eastern Marshall Plan would take shape, through which, by means of this fund, joint cooperation and investments would take place — for example in petrochemicals, oil, transportation, or other areas — and also so that, through these joint investments, so to speak, the hand of moderate forces in these countries would be strengthened against the radicals who exist in all these

8:21 countries, not only in Iran but also in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and those who are supposed to take part in this fund, and even Israel. Another point that can be made on this subject is that China apparently also strongly supports such a fund, because in fact those parts of it in Iran that become free zones, entry points, corridors, railways and so on would help the Belt and Road project, which is the dream and aspiration of Mr. Xi, the president of China — which, because Iran was outside this route, was supposed to pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan.

9:22 But now, if this plan materializes, Iran, which was the natural corridor of the Silk Road, can join this multi-trillion-dollar Chinese project. But in any case, we have to wait and see how the negotiations proceed over the next 60 days and how events unfold, given that it is only the first cup and the drunken brawling has already begun, and the ink of the Iranian and American presidents' signatures has not yet dried. Israel's attacks in Lebanon have become problematic, to the point that Mr. Trump, in an interview he gave after the G7 summit in Évian, France, sharply

10:17 criticized Israel and said, "I also told Bibi Netanyahu that there's no need for us to attack like this." In addition, Mr. Trump — who, of course, has spoken incoherently and contradicted himself a great deal during this period, as he always does — when asked about missiles, since in the early days he was saying Iran should not have missiles at all, stated: "I told my colleagues too that we can't let, for example, Saudi Arabia have missiles and tell Iran not to have them," and then that missiles don't do much harm, they don't destroy the planet, and things of this sort, in justification of his retreat. But Mr. JD Vance has also entered the field, and in a radio interview he has tried

11:14 to justify this memorandum. He stated that if Iran abides by its commitments and the agreement proceeds well, America is ready to pave the way for Iran to join the free global economy. Also, in response to a question, he stated that from the beginning Mr. Trump had not said, and it was never intended, that this military operation would lead to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and bring Mr. Reza Pahlavi to power. Because the reporter had asked him, he answered explicitly. And he is right, too: in Washington it was never on the table that the military operation was meant to, say, overthrow

12:09 this regime, although Mr. Trump in his incoherent remarks did say such things too — and especially not that America had singled out some particular person, a new Chalabi, to install in power in Iran. Mr. Ghalibaf has also given a lengthy interview in Tehran to the Islamic Republic's radio and television. He too has in fact tried to justify this agreement and explain this memorandum, and in it he has, so to speak, placed himself firmly in a hardline position, and also sought to claim that, in any case, we have achieved a great victory, and the sort of justifications this side has made too.

13:04 But from the Office of the Supreme Leader, news is coming out in the form of rumors, which naturally cannot be confirmed for certain, but it is said that in place of Mr. Mohammadi Golpayegani, who for years was head of the office of Khamenei the father, Khamenei the son has appointed Hajj Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari — the same one who heads the so-called Friday Prayer Leaders' Policy Council and is one of Tehran's Friday prayer leaders. Likewise Mehdi Khamoushi, about whom it had previously been said that he had become head of the office, is now said to have replaced Asghar Hejazi as head of the Intelligence Protection Office of the Commander-in-Chief, which is perhaps the most key post

13:58 in the Office of the Supreme Leader. Mehdi Khamoushi is the son of Hajj Taghi Khamoushi, who was one of the bazaar merchants and among the founders of the Motalefeh, one of the Motalefeh activists. He himself was also head of the Islamic Propagation Organization for years, and his last post was head of the Endowments Organization. Also, in place of IRGC General Mohammad Shirazi, who was killed on the very first day and was head of the Office's military bureau, there is talk of Abolghasem Babaeian, who was effectively the chief of staff of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Operational Headquarters, but I, at least, do not know more details. Of course, none of these appointments have been officially announced, and they remain

14:51 at the level of rumors in government circles. If these are true, it shows that Mojtaba Khamenei has entered the field very forcefully to put his own people in place. Meanwhile, Iran's national football team drew in its first match, against New Zealand, and its next game will be against Belgium's national team. But on the sidelines of this football match, Iranians have split into two camps. One group is pressuring this team, saying, "How dare you play; you represent the Islamic Republic, not the country of Iran." Another group says football has nothing to do with such things and supports this team. In any case, it is an issue that has drawn

15:46 the attention of even foreign news agencies, particularly this division among Iranians in Los Angeles. In hope of victory for Iran and Iranians.