US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran’s demand for compensation over damages incurred during the US-Israeli military campaign against the country, which included the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He asserted that Tehran should instead be held accountable for the deaths and injuries resulting from its own attacks.
Iran is demanding $300 billion in compensation from Washington for the damage inflicted by US and Israeli strikes, together with the release of up to $100 billion in frozen assets. Tehran has presented this as one of several conditions attached to any possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Truth Social, Trump described Iran’s demand for compensation as an “interesting idea” and indicated that he would present a counter-demand during upcoming negotiations. He noted that Iranian representatives were seeking compensation for damage incurred in the “last five-month military conflict,” which, according to him, started because Iran refused to abandon its nuclear weapons. The US-Israeli war against Iran commenced on February 28.
He further stated that any compensation should also account for individuals killed or injured in attacks and conflicts linked to Iran, such as the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and various other incidents.
“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,” Trump said.
Trump specifically mentioned Iran’s late military commander Qassem Soleimani and claimed that Tehran had been involved in conflicts responsible for thousands of deaths. Soleimani was killed in a targeted drone strike ordered by Trump in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2020.
Trump further demanded compensation for the families of protesters who, according to him, had been killed by the Iranian government over the past five decades. He also asserted that 52,000 people had died in the preceding five months. “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” Trump stated.
Iran ties full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to compensation demands
Iran has stated that the United States must first agree to compensate it for war-related damage, lift sanctions, end military threats, and release frozen Iranian assets before Tehran will fully reopen the strategic waterway, according to Reuters.
