Donald Trump on Tuesday rejected Iran’s demand for compensation for damage caused by US and Israeli strikes during the ongoing conflict, instead demanding thatย Tehran should be paying the US andย be held accountable for deaths and injuries linked to its attacks.
Iran has reportedly sought USD 300 billion in compensation from Washington for war-related damage, along with the release of up to USD 100 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Tehran has linked these demands to any agreement to fully reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Iranโs compensation demand as an โinteresting ideaโ and said he would present a counter-demand in future negotiations. He said Iranian representatives were seeking compensation for damage caused during what he called the โlast five-month military conflictโ, which he claimed began after Iran refused to give up its nuclear weapons.
The US-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28.
Trump said Iran should also compensate families of people killed or wounded in attacks and conflicts involving Tehran. He specifically cited the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and other incidents, while also referring to Iranโs late military commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike ordered by Trump in Baghdad in 2020.
โI am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,โ Trump said.
Trump puts compensation condition for Iran talks
Trump also demanded compensation for families of protesters who he alleged were killed by the Iranian government over the past five decades. He further claimed that 52,000 people had been killed during the five-month conflict, without providing supporting details.
โI have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,โ Trump said.
Iran links Strait of Hormuz reopening to demands
According to Reuters, Iran has said Washington must agree to compensate it for war damage, lift sanctions, end military threats and release frozen Iranian assets before Tehran agrees to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is a crucial global shipping route, and Iranโs ability to disrupt traffic through it has constrained Trumpโs options. Sporadic missile and drone attacks have disrupted commercial shipping and heightened concerns in global markets.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the strait remains open, even as shipping activity has been severely disrupted. He has also threatened Iran with a โmassive bombing campaignโ, while reports indicate that Tehran appears prepared for a prolonged conflict.
Iranโs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington accepts Tehranโs demands, including compensation for war-related damage.
Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr had earlier called for an end to what he described as โwar and aggressionโ against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq. The Revolutionary Guards said the strait would remain a โtheatre of warโ until the US accepts all of Iranโs conditions.
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