US President Donald Trump has said Iran should pay reparations for damage he claims it has caused over the past five decades, while asserting that the US Navy currently has “100 per cent control” over the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Iran had sought compensation for damage caused by US military actions but Washington would make its own financial demands in future negotiations with Tehran. His remarks come as the two sides remain at odds over conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Claims Full US Control of Hormuz

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the US Navy had established a blockade that gave Washington complete control over access to the strategic waterway.

“The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy. We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall. And we let people in that we want to let in, and those people come in, and they’ve been coming in, and they’re going out. We do not let them go into Iran. They’re not admitted into the Strait to go to Iran. We control the Strait of Hormuz 100%,” Trump said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global energy shipments, and its status has remained a central issue in negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

US Rejects Iran’s Reparations Demand

Trump said Iranian representatives had sought financial compensation for damage caused during the five-month military conflict, but indicated that Washington would respond with its own demands for reparations.

“They asked for reparations, they asked for money for the damage that we’ve done. And I said, that’s a good idea. Well, we’re to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period. So if there’s damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages,” he said.

Earlier, Trump had rejected Tehran’s demand for financial compensation over damage sustained during US-Israeli military operations in Iran. He said the conflict began after Iran refused to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described Iran’s compensation demand as an “interesting idea” and said he would put forward a counter-demand during future diplomatic discussions.

Trump Lists US Claims Against Iran

Trump said Washington would seek compensation for people killed or seriously injured in attacks that he attributed to Iran, including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and other incidents in the region.

“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He also referred to Iran’s former military commander Qassem Soleimani and accused the Iranian leadership of involvement in conflicts that resulted in thousands of deaths. Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike authorised by Trump in Baghdad in 2020.

Trump further said compensation should be sought for families of protesters whom he alleged had been killed by the Iranian government over the past five decades.

He also claimed that 52,000 people had been killed during the five months of the latest conflict, though the statement did not provide further details supporting the figure.

Reparations To Feature in Future Talks

Trump said he had instructed US negotiators to incorporate the compensation demand into future diplomatic engagements with Tehran.

“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” Trump wrote.

The US counter-demand comes after Iran linked its own reparations claims to conditions for potentially reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has also demanded the lifting of US sanctions and an end to the American naval blockade as part of discussions over the strategic waterway.

The competing compensation demands add another issue to already difficult negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with the future of the Strait of Hormuz remaining a key point of contention.

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