Trump adds compensation demand to stalled Strait of Hormuz talks

Iran seeks U.S. payment before commercial shipping resumes

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran should compensate people affected by deaths and damages he attributed to the country. He said he was responding to Iran’s demand that the United States pay for losses and damage from the war.

“It is an interesting idea,” Trump said on Truth Social, referring to Iran’s demand, “because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran.”

Trump said Iran should compensate people killed or wounded by its roadside bombs and the families of U.S. sailors killed on the USS Cole in 2000. He also said the families of protesters Iran has killed over the last 50 years should receive compensation, citing 52,000 people he said Iran has killed over the last few months.

In a second statement, Trump said Iran should be responsible for damages and deaths in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Gaza. “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” he said.

The statements came as negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz remained stalled. Trump has been seeking freedom of navigation through the energy route, which Iran has impeded with a military blockade enforced since early in the war.

Iranian officials have also tied compensation to reopening the strait. Over the weekend, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued six conditions for the United States, including that it “fully compensate Iran for the losses and damages” caused by the war that began Feb. 28.

“The Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened until the United States corrects its conduct,” Zolghadr said.

During an Oval Office press conference, Trump defended his demand. “If there’s damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages,” he said. Trump also said the strait was open and under U.S. Navy control, a claim Iran denies.

The strait is an important energy route through which 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies used to flow. The Trump administration has blocked commercial vessels from leaving or reaching Iran’s ports since the U.S. blockade began July 14.

A Strait of Hormuz monitor recorded seven vessels passing through the strait in the previous 24 hours, nearly 12% of normal daily traffic. U.S. Central Command said Sunday that it had redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two since the blockade began.