Washington (GNP): US President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of people he said had been killed in wars, attacks and protests linked to Tehran, sharply raising rhetorical tensions as hopes faded for an imminent deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said his demand came in response to an earlier call from Iran for Washington to meet certain conditions, including compensating Tehran for damage caused during the more than five months of conflict since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory. Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “likewise demanding compensation from Iran” for people killed and wounded in roadside bombings and other conflicts he said Iran was known for.
The demand had not featured in any previous round of talks between the two countries. Trump said it would now be included in all future negotiations with Iran and would extend to payments for the families of hundreds of thousands of protesters he said had been killed. He also called on Tehran to compensate the families of those killed in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, an assault that left 17 US sailors dead and has historically been attributed to Al Qaeda rather than Iran.
The renewed demand followed earlier statements from Iran, which said it was nearing a final agreement with Oman to define new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran, however, repeated that Washington must first meet its own conditions, including compensation, the lifting of sanctions and an end to military threats, before the strategic waterway could be reopened. The strait, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flowed before the conflict, has remained effectively blocked since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Oil markets reacted quickly to the exchange. Prices rose three percent following remarks from Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, as early optimism over a potential Hormuz agreement was tempered by Iran’s insistence on preconditions. Brent crude extended its gains to trade up 4.25 percent, while Dutch and British front-month gas prices climbed more than ten percent.
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Trump, who has said the strikes on Iran were intended to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons and to curb its ability to threaten the region, faces mounting domestic pressure to bring the conflict to a close ahead of the November midterm elections, given its unpopularity at home. Washington and Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire in June, but the United States reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July, a move Iran said violated the truce, which had by then already broken down.
Iranian strikes on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have coincided with intensified attacks by Houthi rebels, who have targeted vessels at a separate chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis also declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, citing what they described as a Saudi siege on their positions in Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied while continuing to back Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Fighting between Houthi forces and the Yemeni military has escalated in parallel. On Monday, the Yemeni military said seven people, including both military personnel and civilians, were killed in a Houthi attack on the Red Sea port city of Mocha. Yemeni air defences intercepted and shot down 11 Houthi drones involved in the assault.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
