Donald Trump on Monday rejected Iran’s demand for compensation over damages caused during the US-Israeli war on the country that assassinated their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran should instead be held responsible for the deaths and injuries caused by its attacks, the US President has said.
Iran demands $300 billions in compensation from Washington for damage caused by the US and Israeli strikes, along with the release of up to $100 billion in frozen assets. This is one of several conditions Tehran has linked to a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
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On Truth Social, Trump said Iran’s demand for compensation was an “interesting idea” and said he would make a counter-demand in future negotiations. Trump said Iranian representatives were seeking compensation for damage caused during the “last five month military conflict,” which he said began because Iran would not agree to give up nuclear weapons. The US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.
He also said compensation should also cover people killed or wounded in attacks and conflicts involving Iran, including the 2000 USS Cole bombing and other incidents.
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“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,” Trump said.
Trump specifically referred to Iran’s late military commander Qassem Soleimani and alleged that Tehran had been involved in conflicts that led to thousands of deaths. Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted drone strike ordered by Trump in 2020 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Trump says demand will feature in future talks
Trump also demanded compensation for families of protesters who, he alleged, were killed by the Iranian government over the past five decades.
He also claimed that 52,000 people had been killed in the last five months. “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” Trump said.
Iran links Hormuz reopening to compensation
Iran says the US must agree to compensate it for war damage, along with lifting sanctions, ending military threats and releasing frozen Iranian assets, before Tehran agrees to fully reopen the strategic waterway, Reuters reported.
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Iran’s ability to disrupt shipping through the strategically important waterway has limited Trump’s options, The Wall Street Journal said. Sporadic missile and drone attacks have affected commercial traffic and raised concerns in global markets.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the strait was open, while shipping activity remained severely disrupted. He also threatened Iran with a “massive bombing campaign”, but the report said Tehran appeared prepared for a lengthy war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington accepted Tehran’s demands, including compensation for war damage.
Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr had earlier called for an end to the “war and aggression” against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq. The Guards said the strait would remain a “theatre of war” until the US accepted all of Iran’s conditions.
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