WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he is demanding financial compensation from Iran “for all the people they have killed and gravely wounded,” countering Iran’s push to receive money for the damage it has endured during the war.

Trump called for the reparations in an Aug. 10 post on Truth Social in response to Iran, in negotiations with Oman over the weekend, saying it would not agree to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the U.S. meets certain conditions including compensation for Tehran.

“It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran,” Trump said, characterizing the payments as payback for the people they’ve killed “with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.” He singled out the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which was carried out by the Al Qaeda terrorist group, and “thousands of others killed in combat.”

Trump said Iran should also compensate families of innocent protesters killed by its ruling regime over the past half-century.

“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” the president said.

At least 18 U.S. service members have died in the Middle East in attacks connected to the U.S. war in Iran since the conflict began more than five months ago in early February.

Trump’s remarks came after he suggested in an Aug. 9 phone interview with Axios that the United States is prepared to hold off on new military action against Iran to watch economic pressure on Tehran play out.

It marked a major shift in rhetoric from when Trump on Aug. 3 warned he was giving Iran one final opportunity to agree to a peace deal or risk “decapitation.” 

“We are low-keying it,” Trump told Axios, while also suggesting talks on a peace deal have slowed. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

Throughout the military conflict with Iran, Trump has touted efforts toward securing a peace deal that would address Iran’s nuclear capability. But a memorandum of understanding reached between the two countries in June quickly fell apart, and there’s been little evidence of progress toward an agreement since.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.