Trump responds to Iran demands with compensation counterclaim
Trump answered Iran’s terms for reopening the Strait of Hormuz by seeking compensation, while an Oman route plan remained unfinished.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
Trump responds to Iran demands with a compensation counterclaim after Tehran made war-damage payments one of six conditions it says must be met before full navigation can resume through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social-media post reported by Time and BBC News on Aug. 10, President Donald Trump said he had instructed U.S. representatives to seek compensation from Iran for people he said had been killed or seriously injured in roadside-bomb attacks and other conflicts. He also called for compensation for families of Iranian protesters he said were killed.
Trump’s assertions amount to allegations against Iran, rather than independently established findings in the reporting. His response directly addressed Tehran’s demand that the United States pay damages from what Iranian officials described as two wars against Iran.
What are Iran’s demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz?
Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, then the outgoing secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, set out six conditions, according to Time. Iran says the shipping waterway will not fully reopen unless the United States:
- stops threatening Iran or using insulting language toward it;
- ends hostilities against Iran and its regional allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq;
- lifts the naval blockade and pulls U.S. naval and air forces back from around Iran;
- pays war damages;
- removes sanctions; and
- releases frozen Iranian assets without conditions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei later repeated demands that included lifting the U.S. blockade and paying compensation, Time reported. NBC News said Iran had made a new set of demands before it would stop attacks on commercial ships in the strait.
The exchange leaves the two sides publicly far apart. Trump told Axios that the administration was “only semi-negotiating” with Iran, according to BBC News. Earlier, on Aug. 3, Trump had called a deal Iran’s “last chance,” while Iranian officials denied direct negotiations with Washington were under way, CNN reported.
Will the Oman route talks reopen the strait?
Not on their own, Iranian officials have said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations with Oman to map out new maritime routes were in their final stages, but stressed that a route arrangement would not itself reopen the strait, according to Time and BBC News.
Iran says reopening remains dependent on the other conditions it has conveyed through intermediaries. The available reporting does not establish a U.S.-Iran agreement or set a date for the strait to reopen.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.