Trump rebukes Iran's demand for war damages, says Tehran should compensate its victims

President Trump on Monday said Iran’s demand for compensation over war damage is an “interesting idea” that he will turn into a counter-demand for payment from Tehran for thousands of people killed in regime-sponsored acts of Middle East terror and protest crackdowns.

Mr. Trump said Iran did not bring up the idea of war reparations until recently, as part of a list of weekend demands it sought in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to a normal flow of commercial shipping.

“But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Mr. Trump said he would seek damages for the families of those who died from roadside bombs masterminded by the late Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a Trump-ordered strike in January 2020. He also cited victims of Iran’s support for the bombing of the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer of the U.S. Navy, in October 2000, and “thousands of others killed in combat.”

“Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,” Mr. Trump said. “I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.”

Mr. Trump hit back at Iran as his war on the Islamic regime, which has lasted over five months, enters uncertain territory.

SEE ALSO: Qatar offers Iran a fund, not a toll, and says it will stop shipping before it pays

Trump administration officials last week said they were close to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a precursor to deeper talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. But a deal never materialized, and Iran’s demands complicated matters.

Mr. Trump launched U.S. attacks with Israel on Iran on Feb. 28, hoping to thwart Tehran from gaining a nuclear weapon. 

Iran retaliated by hindering traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point, leading to economic turmoil and cycles of violence and negotiation between the U.S. and Iran.