US President Donald Trump has posted demands on Truth Social that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of American soldiers and Iranian civilians over recent decades, a move that comes as negotiations to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz appear to have reached an impasse, according to The Guardian.
Trump demands war reparations from Iran as nuclear and Hormuz negotiations stall
US President Donald Trump has posted demands on Truth Social that Iran pay compensation for the deaths of American soldiers and Iranian civilians over recent decades, a move that comes as negotiations to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz appear to have reached an impasse, according to The Guardian.
In his Truth Social posts, Trump cited the deaths of soldiers killed by roadside bombs and in other conflicts he attributed to Iran, referencing the families of those killed aboard the USS Cole and what he described as thousands killed in combat. He also called for compensation for, in his words, 'the hundreds of thousands of innocent protesters that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,' according to The Guardian.
According to The Guardian, Trump said he issued the reparations demand in direct response to Iranian negotiators making similar claims for damages arising from a five-month war that has killed thousands and devastated Iran's military and economy. In a second post roughly an hour later, he extended the scope of his demands to include victims of conflicts in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.
Al Jazeera reports that Trump has been alternating between threats of force and calls for patience as economic pressure mounts on Tehran, characterising his overall posture toward Iran as one of mixed signals.
According to The Guardian, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed to roughly 20 percent of global oil trade since the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran in late February. Trump and other senior officials have on multiple occasions said a deal was near, though none has been reached.
The reparations demands follow a separate setback in the region: on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected a 15-point roadmap to end the war in Gaza backed by Trump and what The Guardian describes as the Board of Peace. Netanyahu stated that Hamas must fully disarm before Israel would consider any withdrawal from Gaza, rather than the phased withdrawal the plan proposed. He framed the rejection as a refusal to yield to outside pressure, including from the United States.
According to The Guardian, Trump had not replied directly to Netanyahu's statement as of Monday, though when asked about the relationship in the Oval Office he described it as 'very good.'
The Guardian reports that Trump is seeking to resolve conflicts in Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon before midterm elections, and that elevated oil prices and inflation resulting from the regional turmoil are expected to pose political risks for Republicans.
- No Iranian government response to Trump's reparations demands is included in either source.
- The current status or timeline of Strait of Hormuz negotiations is not established beyond characterisations of impasse.
- Neither source details the specific content of the 15-point Gaza roadmap beyond Netanyahu's objection to its phased withdrawal provision.
- The identity and composition of the 'Board of Peace' referenced by The Guardian is not explained in either source.
- No White House or State Department comment on the reparations demands is included.
- The figure of 52,000 deaths cited by Trump in his post is not independently verified or sourced by either outlet.
- Neither source clarifies whether the USS Cole attack is formally attributed to Iran in US policy.
- Al Jazeera English — original
- The Guardian — by Andrew Roth
Read the original at Al Jazeera English