Trump Demands Iran Pay Compensation for 50 Years
Washington, Agencies: U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he will demand compensation from Iran for all the deaths it caused over the years, noting that this is in response to Tehran’s demand for reparations for damages it sustained during the ongoing conflict. Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform, “I see that representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are demanding compensation for damages suffered during the five-month military conflict (which began with the aim of preventing them from acquiring a nuclear weapon), despite the fact that this was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings.” He continued, “This is interesting because I, for my part, am now demanding compensation from Iran for all the killed and wounded who fell as a result of its roadside bombings and in numerous conflicts it became known for, initially under the leadership of Qasem Soleimani, including the families of the victims of the U.S. destroyer Cole, and thousands of others who fell in battles.” Trump added, “Compensation must also be paid to the families of hundreds of thousands of innocent protesters killed by Iran over the past 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 killed in the past five months.” He pointed out that he had directed that this compensation claim be “decisively included in all future negotiations.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. president stated that the United States had “cleared mines from the Strait of Hormuz,” affirming that the U.S. Navy “fully controls” this vital waterway. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office about the strait, Trump said, “It is open now, look, the only entity currently controlling the Strait of Hormuz is the U.S. Navy.” He added, “They drop a mine here and there, and we find it. As you know, we have completely surveyed the strait and removed the mines; you may have heard about it, or perhaps you haven’t,” and insisted that the United States controls the strait “100 percent.”
Trump announced that the United States is negotiating with Iran, while simultaneously warning that his country has three options for dealing with Tehran, including launching strong military strikes and continuing economic pressure. In comments to the “Real America’s Voice” channel, he described Iranians as “negotiators characterized by a high degree of cunning and shrewdness,” accusing them of agreeing to certain understandings during negotiations before going to the media to deny reaching any such agreements. He explained that the first option Washington is pursuing is “close monitoring” and waiting to see how much the situation in Iran deteriorates. The second option is to “hit them with great force,” while the third involves continuing economic pressure, which he confirmed the United States is already implementing.
Trump pointed to what he described as the deterioration of Iran’s economic situation, stating that the country is suffering from inflation reaching 300 percent and that the Iranian currency is “almost worthless.” He noted that the Iranian government is facing difficulties paying its soldiers’ salaries. The U.S. president said Washington controls “a significant amount” of Iranian funds and assets, adding that these assets are “under our complete control,” referring to the economic pressure tools used by the U.S. administration against Tehran.
Trump reiterated his assertion that Iran will not be able to acquire a nuclear weapon, stating, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t be able to,” without providing further details on the path Washington will follow to prevent this. He described the agreement reached by the administration of former President Barack Obama as “catastrophic,” adding that, had it not been terminated, Iran would have acquired a nuclear weapon five years ago, referencing his assessment of how close Tehran was to developing such capability.
