President Donald Trump has escalated the standoff with Iran by declaring a new condition for future negotiations, insisting Tehran must compensate victims of its decades of violence after Iranian officials demanded payment from the United States before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest exchange comes after Iran indicated that the strategically vital waterway would remain closed unless the U.S. compensates the Islamic Republic for damage sustained during the recent five-month war. In response, Trump unveiled a list of demands of his own, drawing a sharp new line in the ongoing negotiations.

“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!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump went on to argue that if compensation is now part of the discussion, Iran should be the one paying for decades of bloodshed carried out through its military operations and proxy forces.

“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,” the president added.

The president also broadened his demands to include compensation for Iranian civilians whom he said were killed by their own government over the past half-century, particularly during the recent conflict.

“Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months.

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

{Matzav.com}