President Donald Trump is demanding compensation from the Islamic Republic of Iran in the ongoing talks with the Middle Eastern nation.
Trump noted that it is in direct response to the Islamic Republic's request for money for damages inflicted on them throughout the ongoing war, and said he has asked American negotiators “to put this firmly into any, and all, future” conversations.
The president said the funds should not only go toward the families of American soldiers, but also to “families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years” in a heated Truth Social post on Monday afternoon.
“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 (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump added.
“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, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and thousands of others killed in combat,” he further added.
In an interview with Axios over the weekend, the president said that the United States is “low-keying it” with the Iran situation, adding that the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating with them” as the Islamic Republic faces economic turmoil.
"It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game,” he added, according to the outlet.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran was signed in June, but the ceasefire agreement collapsed when Iran began striking cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes led to a days-long response from the U.S. military and overall escalation in the conflict, which began with the goal of throttling Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The latest financial push in the Iran conflict comes amid Operation Economic Fury against Iran, including freezing cryptocurrency, according to Fox Business earlier this year.
“The Iranian regime’s reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a Friday statement. “We will continue to increase the economic pressure. Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat.”
Following publication, Trump posted again to Truth Social on Monday afternoon, adding that "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!"