U.S. President Donald Trump demanded on Monday that Iran pay compensation for people he said were killed in wars, attacks and protests, a move that is expected to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and sent Brent crude higher.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States would seek payment for "50 years" of damages caused by Iran, framing the demand as a direct response to Tehran's own request for war reparations and an end to sanctions. "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," Trump wrote. "It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran."
Brent crude traded at 87 dollars per barrel after the post, up 4.6 percent for the day, according to data from TradingEconomics. The surge reflected renewed uncertainty over the timeline for reopening the strait, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war began on February 28.
Trump said the United States would seek compensation for people killed or wounded in previous conflicts, as well as payments to the families of protesters. He claimed that 52,000 people had been killed in Iran in the past four months, a figure Tehran disputes. The Iranian government has said some 3,117 people died in antigovernment protests that swept the country in January, before the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera.
The U.S. president also said Iran should compensate families of the 17 U.S. sailors killed in an October 2000 attack in Yemen on the naval vessel USS Cole, which has been blamed on al Qaeda, not Iran. In a second Truth Social post, Trump added that "Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza."
Iran has said it will not reopen the strait unless Washington agrees to pay war reparations and end sanctions and military threats. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state media on Monday that talks with Oman over new shipping lanes through the strait were "progressing smoothly and constructively," with an agreement reached on a shipping route map, though some technical issues remained unresolved.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked since the war began, pushing up oil prices and inflation. The U.S. reimposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in July after a ceasefire agreed in June broke down over the dispute on control of the waterway. U.S. Central Command said on Monday that it had redirected 55 commercial vessels since reinstating the blockade and "disabled" at least two, according to Al Jazeera.
Trump described the blockade as a "steel wall" and said "the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy." Maritime intelligence firm Windward reported that the blockade has resulted in a "complete halt" to Iranian oil exports from Kharg Island in the Gulf.
The U.S. president is under pressure to end a war that is deeply unpopular at home ahead of midterm elections in November, with high fuel prices a top concern in rural areas. Since the conflict began, Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent.
Sources
- gCaptain (Reuters): https://gcaptain.com/trump-demands-compensation-from-iran-as-hormuz-deal-hopes-fade/
- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/11/trump-demands-compensation-from-iran-as-talks-on-strait-of-hormuz-continue
- TradingEconomics: https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil
