President Donald Trump has escalated his confrontation with Iran, demanding compensation for what he described as decades of damages caused by Tehran, just as negotiations over the strategic Strait of Hormuz hang in the balance.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said his administration would seek payment for “50 years” of harm linked to Iranian actions. The demand came in direct response to Tehran’s insistence that Washington pay war reparations and lift sanctions before the strait—a vital artery for global oil shipments—can be reopened.
The strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February, has been effectively closed since the conflict erupted. Iran has said it will not allow traffic to resume unless its conditions are met, including an end to military threats.
“They asked for reparations, you might say. Or they asked for money for the damage that we’ve done. I said that’s a good idea,” Trump told reporters. “Well, we’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period.”
The payments, he said, would cover deaths among US forces in the region as well as civilian protesters in Iran. Trump claimed that 52,000 people have been killed in Iran over the past four months. Tehran, for its part, says some 3,117 people died in antigovernment protests in January, before the war began. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported about 7,000 deaths in February, including 6,500 protesters.
Trump also said Iran should compensate the families of 17 US sailors killed in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen—an attack widely attributed to al-Qaeda, not Iran. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Also, with respect to the Iran negotiations, Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza!”
Despite the rhetorical fireworks, diplomatic channels remain open. Iran and Oman have been holding talks over the waterway, which separates their territories. Tehran said Monday that negotiations were “progressing smoothly and constructively,” with an agreement reached on a shipping route map, though technical issues remain.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state media that the discussions covered services such as safe navigation, environmental protection, maritime services, and combating crime. He accused the US of continued “hostile actions” in the strait and called Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports an “act of aggression.”
The United States Central Command said Monday that it had redirected 55 commercial vessels since reinstating the blockade in July and “disabled” at least two. According to Windward, a maritime intelligence firm, the blockade has led to a “complete halt” to Iranian oil exports from Kharg Island in the Gulf.
Trump described the blockade as a “steel wall” and asserted that “the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy.” He also claimed the waterway was open and that US forces had cleared it of mines.
But shipping data tell a different story. MarineTraffic reported that crossings fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and just six on Sunday. Seventeen vessels took the Iran-designated route, while ten others used a route classified as “undetermined.”
Charles Kupchan, a former special assistant to ex-President Barack Obama, dismissed Trump’s compensation remarks as “banter.” He told Al Jazeera that neither side appears to be taking the other’s demands seriously.
“Unfortunately, we are just looking at some back-and-forth banter here, where neither the Iranians nor the Trump administration is being serious,” Kupchan said. He noted that Iran cannot survive without oil exports, and Trump faces pressure ahead of the US midterms to keep gasoline prices down. The Pentagon is also under strain due to reports of low munitions stockpiles.
Trump has swung between threats and conciliation since the war began. Last week, he threatened to “hit” Iran “very hard,” only to pull back and hint that a peace deal was near. Over the weekend, he said he was “low-keying” his approach, suggesting he would let economic pressure build rather than launch further military strikes.
The standoff has already pushed up oil prices and inflation globally. The strait’s closure has disrupted supply chains and raised fears of a broader conflict. Yet the ongoing talks between Iran and Oman offer a glimmer of hope, even as Trump’s latest demand adds another layer of complexity to an already volatile situation.
