US President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran compensate victims of deaths and injuries he attributed to the country’s wars, attacks and protests, escalating his rhetoric toward Tehran as prospects dimmed for an immediate agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump said his demand came in response to Iran’s insistence that Washington meet several conditions, including compensation for damage caused after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iranian territory more than five months ago.
“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social service.
Abbas Araghchi said an agreement with Oman on the strait was in its ‘final stages’
Oil prices, which had already climbed after Iran’s remarks, rose further following Mr Trump’s post. Brent crude was up 4.25%.
Trump cites attack blamed on al-Qaeda, not Iran
The president said compensation would form part of any future negotiations with Iran’s leadership. He also called for payments to the families of hundreds of thousands of protesters whom he accused the Iranian government of killing.
Rights groups say Tehran has continued its crackdown on dissent and political opponents during the war.
Mr Trump further demanded that Iran compensate the “families of those killed on the USS Cole”, referring to the 12 October 2000, bombing of the US naval vessel in Yemen, which killed 17 American sailors. The attack has been attributed to al-Qaeda, not Iran.
“Also, with respect to the Iran negotiations, Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza!” Mr Trump wrote in a second post.
Iran had earlier said it was close to completing an agreement with Oman to establish new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. But Tehran reiterated that the US would first have to meet its demands, including compensation, an end to sanctions and a halt to military threats, before the crucial waterway could reopen.
Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait since the US and Israel struck Iran in late February
Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait. The waterway has been effectively closed since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, driving up energy costs and adding to inflationary pressure.
Trump under pressure
Mr Trump has said the strikes were intended to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons and to weaken its ability to threaten neighbouring countries. He is now under pressure to bring an unpopular war to an end at home, with midterm elections due in November.
The competing demands for compensation marked the latest turn in an erratic exchange between Washington and Tehran. Mr Trump has repeatedly warned of imminent attacks on Iran, then suggested that diplomatic breakthroughs were close, only for neither outcome to materialise.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations with Oman over navigation arrangements in the strait were “progressing smoothly and constructively”. He said the two sides had agreed on a map of the shipping route, although technical issues surrounding a joint statement had yet to be settled.
Speaking at a weekly news conference in Tehran, he said the discussions also addressed safe passage, environmental safeguards, maritime services and efforts to combat crime. Such services, he added, would normally be provided in exchange for payment.
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US officials have repeatedly said Washington would reject any arrangement that allowed Tehran to control passage through the strait or impose access fees.
However, months of US military action, including a two-week bombing campaign in July, have failed to loosen Iran’s hold over the waterway.
Washington and Tehran reached a ceasefire in June, but the US reinstated a blockade on Iranian shipping in the Gulf in July. Iran said the move breached the truce, which had already collapsed by that point.
Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on US allies across the region and has also targeted commercial vessels attempting to pass through the strait without its approval.
Another Houthi attack reported
The Houthis, Iran-backed allies based in Yemen, have also attacked shipping around another major oil chokepoint on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Last month, the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, saying it was retaliation for a Saudi siege on their forces in Yemen. Riyadh denies the allegation and supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Violence has intensified between the Houthis and government forces in Yemen. The Yemeni military said seven people, including troops and civilians, were killed in a Houthi assault on the Red Sea port city of Mocha.
The military said air defences intercepted and shot down 11 Houthi drones involved in the attack.
