WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran should also be responsible “for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.” The latest declaration by Trump in a Truth Social post comes an hour after he claimed he had instructed his negotiators to demand that Iran pay reparations for Americans it has killed over the years.
It is unclear how significant these social media declarations are, given that Trump acknowledged just yesterday that the US is only “semi-negotiating” with Iran. Trump also declared that he is demanding compensation from Iran for the Americans it has killed and wounded over the years after Tehran reportedly insisted on similar reparations for the damages caused by the US and Israel in this year’s war. “I see that representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month military conflict… even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump writes on Truth Social.
“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,” he continues.
“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” Trump claims. It is unclear how significant the announcement is, given that negotiations with Iran are said to have hit a dead end. Trump said on Sunday that Washington was “low-keying” its approach to Iran and only “semi-negotiating” with the Islamic Republic. As three of its most powerful regional neighbours signed a defense pact, Iran has been engaged in talks with Oman to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Baghaei said on Monday were “progressing smoothly and constructively.” US President Donald Trump said Sunday, “We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money. It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game.”
Responding to those comments, Baghaei said that Iranians have shown “they are professional chess players,” and are prepared to wait out the American pressure and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. He reiterated that “as long as the US naval blockade continues… as long as other violations by the United States continue, the necessary conditions for saying that the Strait of Hormuz has become a safe waterway will not exist.”
He said during his weekly press conference in Tehran that the discussions also covered mechanisms for safe navigation, environmental protection, maritime services, and combating crime, adding that such services would normally entail receiving payment in return.
Also, Iran on Monday said that it has no reason to be concerned about the new security pact between Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, arguing that it is “a sign of a change in the perception” of countries in the region toward the United States, and not a threat to Iran.
The three nations signed a mutual defense agreement on Friday against the backdrop of a five-month war between the US and Iran, which has drawn in much of the Middle East and disrupted global trade routes, greatly affecting the three signatories to the pact. Analysts have argued that the agreement seeks to deter an emboldened regime in Tehran and offset an unreliable backer in Washington.
“The countries of the region have realized that security is not a commodity that can be bought from false brokers,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a weekly press conference, referring to the US, an ally of the three signatories to the pact.
“Any plan that is based on the geopolitical and historical realities of the region, is comprehensive and inclusive, and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat, has a chance of helping to strengthen security and prevent instability and abuses by the Zionist enemy and its allies,” he added, referring to Israel. “Countries in the region cannot rely on the claim of security provided by the US as in the past,” he added.
