US President Donald Trump yesterday demanded Iran pay compensation for the people he said it had killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a move that will likely complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s proposal, which has not been raised before, was a response to Tehran’s demands for compensation and an end to sanctions.
This are largely in line with the terms of a preliminary peace deal signed in June, which has since broken down. Since the war began in February, Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent.
“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran.”
It was unclear how the two sides can come to an agreement, given that neither side is likely to accept the other’s terms. Oil prices rose after Trump’s post, with Brent crude trading at $87, up 4.6 per cent for the day.
Trump said the US would seek compensation for people who have been killed or wounded in previous conflicts, as well as payments to the families of hundreds of thousands of protesters whom he said Iran had killed.
Trump encouraged protesters to overthrow the Iranian government when the war began with US and Israeli airstrikes in February. Rights groups say the Iranian government has continued to crack down on opponents since then. Trump also said Iran should compensate families of the 17 US sailors killed in an October 2000 attack in Yemen on the naval vessel USS Cole, which has been blamed on 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!” Trump wrote in a second post.
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