U.S. President Donald Trump escalated a standoff with Iran on Monday by demanding compensation from Tehran for deaths and destruction linked to decades of conflict, after Iranian officials said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington meets a series of conditions.
The competing demands could further complicate efforts to reach an agreement to reopen the strategic waterway, which has been effectively blocked since the war began and has contributed to higher energy prices.
Trump said Iran’s demand for compensation for damage caused by U.S. and Israeli attacks had only recently emerged. He responded by saying Tehran should also pay for Americans and others killed or wounded in conflicts and attacks that Washington has linked to Iran or Iranian-backed groups.
“We’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had instructed his representatives to include compensation in any future negotiations with Tehran.
“Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza!” Trump wrote.
Trump also called for compensation for families of Iranian protesters killed during the government’s crackdown. He cited a figure of about 52,000 deaths, although rights groups have reported substantially lower figures.
He also said Iran should compensate families of 17 U.S. sailors killed in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The attack was carried out by al-Qaida and has not been attributed to Iran.
Washington has separately blamed Iran-backed groups for the deaths of hundreds of Americans, including 241 U.S. military personnel killed in the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut and at least 603 U.S. troops killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.
Iran’s conditions
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Washington ends its blockade of Iranian ports, lifts economic sanctions and releases frozen Iranian assets.
Tehran is also demanding compensation for damage caused by the U.S.-Israeli bombardment.
“It is up to the U.S. side to stop and make amends for its illegal and destructive actions,” Baghaei said.
The Strait of Hormuz has become the central issue in the standoff. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and a significant share of global liquefied natural gas passed through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.
The disruption has pushed energy prices higher and raised inflation concerns, increasing pressure on Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections. Oil prices settled about 5% higher Monday as Trump’s demands reduced hopes for a deal to restore shipping.
Iran said talks with Oman over new shipping arrangements were progressing. Baghaei said the two sides had agreed on a map for a proposed shipping route, although technical issues remained.
The discussions also covered safe navigation, environmental protection, maritime services and efforts to combat crime. U.S. officials have rejected any arrangement that would allow Iran to charge fees for access to the strait.
Iran leadership calls for unity
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had called for unity as the Islamic Republic faces sanctions, economic pressure and the consequences of the war.
Pezeshkian told state television that he spent nearly seven hours with Khamenei discussing living costs, employment, housing and problems caused by U.S. sanctions.
But he said Khamenei’s main message was preventing internal divisions.
“All of the enemy’s plans are aimed at creating division,” Pezeshkian said. “What we have to do is prevent divisions from emerging.”
It was only the second time Pezeshkian has publicly said he met with Khamenei since the younger Khamenei was appointed supreme leader in March after a U.S.-Israeli strike killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The new leader is believed to have been wounded and has not appeared publicly since.
Iran also appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a longtime Revolutionary Guard commander and adviser to Khamenei, as head of the Supreme National Security Council.
Rezaei, 71, led the Revolutionary Guard from 1981 to 1997. He has threatened serious consequences for U.S. forces if Washington does not lift its blockade of Iranian ports.
The Institute for the Study of War said Rezaei appeared willing to negotiate with Washington to advance Iran’s objectives, including control over the Strait of Hormuz, while showing little willingness to offer concessions.
Violence continues across region
The conflict continued to reverberate across the Middle East.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Israeli military declared the Christian-majority town of Taybeh a closed military zone, saying the move was intended to keep Israeli settlers and other nonresidents away.
The decision followed months of reported arson, vandalism and settler incursions onto private and village property.
The military said Palestinian residents and journalists would be allowed to enter unless they pose a security threat. According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in 2026.
In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked the Red Sea port town of Mokha on Sunday, killing seven people and wounding 30, according to Yemen’s Defense Ministry. Four of those killed were military personnel and three were civilians.
Fighting continued Monday near Taiz. The Houthis said artillery shelling killed a 13-year-old child and wounded another.
The attack was among the largest waves of Houthi strikes against positions held by Yemen’s internationally recognized government since a 2022 truce.
The violence has added uncertainty to regional shipping as the crisis around Hormuz increases attention on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
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