As armed clashes continue in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would compensate all ships that come under attack in the future using Iran's frozen funds.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account on the 23rd (local time), "From this point forward and until further notice, any and all damage to ships, cargo, or anything related will be compensated with Iranian funds that the United States holds and controls."
Trump did not mention the source of the "Iranian funds" or specific compensation measures. However, it is presumed to refer to Iran's frozen funds that were on the agenda during the sides' end-of-war talks.
Earlier, the United States signed an end-of-war memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran and, in follow-up talks, proposed allowing $6 billion (about 9 trillion won) of the $100 billion (about 155 trillion won) in Iranian funds frozen worldwide, which are in Qatar, to be used to purchase humanitarian goods.
However, differences reportedly remained as Iran stuck to its claim to collect a Hormuz transit fee expected at $40 billion a year (about 62 trillion won). The two sides are now clashing again over control of Hormuz, leaving the end-of-war MOU nullified.
With Trump adding forces to the Middle East, the United States appears set to expand the war with Iran.