In a strong declaration, former President Donald Trump warned that any harm inflicted on cargo ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz will be compensated using ‘Iranian funds’ currently held by the United States.
Trump issued this statement on his Truth Social account Thursday night amid escalating tensions in the crucial waterway, a vital artery through which a significant portion of the global oil supply flows.
‘Let it be known,’ Trump wrote, ‘that until further notice, any damage incurred by ships, cargo, or related entities will be settled with Iranian assets under U.S. control.’
‘Despite the potential for these damages to be considerable, this approach remains fair and just,’ he added.
The strategic control of the Strait of Hormuz has long been a contentious issue in U.S.-Iran negotiations, with Iran asserting its influence over this pivotal maritime passage.
It has repeatedly struck vessels trying to pass through the strait, and on Thursday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Following the attack, Trump said he was considering a ‘massive attack’ on Iran.
He had claimed leaders in Tehran wanted a deal but had not yet felt ‘enough pain’ to properly negotiate. He did not say when he would finalize his decision.
President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that any damage to cargo ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz will be paid for with seized ‘Iranian money’
The commander-in-chief made the announcement on his Truth Social page
Trump also claimed that Israel would join the new strikes if he were to ask, though he insisted the its help was not needed.
Already, the Pentagon has flown a B-1 bomber over the region for the first time since the ceasefire collapsed and surged extra special operations forces into the area.
A further 150 medics have also been sent to a military hospital in Germany that treats US troops wounded in the Middle East.
Trump is under pressure at home to wrap up the war as Republicans, facing crucial midterm elections in November, fear a bloodbath if gas prices remain elevated and push inflation higher.
Many Democrats have voiced opposition to the war since its inception.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was grilled in a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, where even a Republican senator rebuked him for not giving ‘straight answers’ to questions.
Hegseth testified that the cost of the war has already exceeded $37.5billion, and the White House is asking Congress for even more than that in emergency war funding.
Trump has made repeated threats against the Iranian regime, but since the collapse of the memorandum of understanding, the US has been unable to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Iran would harshly respond to any military action taken against it.
‘Our defense doctrine is clear: Eye for an eye,’ he wrote. ‘Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shot back, telling reporters that US policy would be a ‘head for an eye’ when it comes to retaliating against Iranian action. ‘They will pay a very heavy price for the things they’re doing,’ Rubio added.
The US has bombed Iranian radar and missile systems along the Strait of Hormuz for nearly two weeks after Trump’s ceasefire collapsed
But as American confidence in the war wanes, four US soldiers were killed over the weekend, bringing the death toll to 18 since the war’s beginning.
Three died in an Iranian missile and drone attack on an air base in Jordan. One died after an attempted controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
More than 400 US troops have been wounded in the fighting.
Nearly half of voters, 49 percent, now say launching military action in Iran was the wrong thing to do, according to a Daily Mail/JL Partners poll of 1,021 registered voters taken between July 17 and 20.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.