Trump Demands War Reparations from Iran as Tehran Appoints New Military Commanders
US President Donald Trump has said Washington will seek compensation from Iran for deaths and injuries allegedly caused by Tehran over decades, escalating a dispute over war reparations as Iran conditions the reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz on compensation and other concessions.
In posts on Truth Social and remarks at the White House on Monday, Trump responded to Iranian demands that the United States pay reparations for destruction caused during the five-month conflict. Calling Tehran’s position “interesting,” Trump said Washington would make its own compensation demands in any future negotiations.
“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran,” Trump wrote, citing American military personnel killed or wounded in conflicts involving Iran and attacks including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. He also referred to Iranian protesters killed by the Iranian government over the past five decades and claimed that tens of thousands of people had been killed in recent months.
Trump said he had instructed US negotiators to raise the issue of compensation during any future talks with Tehran.
The demands add another obstacle to efforts to resolve the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy transit routes. Iran has linked any reopening of the waterway to a broader package that includes reparations, sanctions relief and other concessions from Washington.
Amid the diplomatic deadlock, Iran has moved to fill several senior military positions left vacant following earlier US-Israeli strikes.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued decrees on Monday appointing six senior commanders to key military and security posts.
Major General Ali Abdollahi was appointed chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, while Ahmad Vahidi was named commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Other appointments included Kioumars Heydari as deputy chief of staff, Mostafa Izadi as deputy commander of the IRGC, Ali Ozmaei as commander of the IRGC Navy, and Hossein Taeb as head of the Basij paramilitary force.
The appointments come as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington and negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled following months of conflict that began in February.
The competing demands for reparations, combined with Iran’s military restructuring and the unresolved dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, have further complicated prospects for a broader US-Iran agreement.
