President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. may use frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages to commercial ships and cargo [1].
The move signals a significant escalation in economic pressure against Tehran. By leveraging these funds, the U.S. administration seeks to hold Iran financially accountable for maritime disruptions in critical shipping lanes.
Trump said "damages will be paid for by Iranian money that the US has ‘in its possession, and controls’" [2]. The president said Iran must pay for the damage to ships and cargo [3]. This decision follows a series of attacks on commercial vessels that the U.S. attributes to Houthi rebels backed by Iran [4].
Tehran responded to the threat by calling the move an "incendiary precedent" [1]. The Iranian government said it denounces the prospect of the U.S. seizing these assets to cover the costs of maritime attacks.
The geopolitical tension has already impacted global markets. Oil prices have pushed past $100 a barrel amid the escalation [5].
U.S. officials said the frozen assets are a legitimate tool for restitution. The administration said that because Iran supports the groups responsible for the attacks, the funds should be used to compensate the affected commercial entities [2].
“"damages will be paid for by Iranian money that the US has ‘in its possession, and controls’"”
The threat to seize frozen assets represents a shift from using sanctions as a deterrent to using them as a direct source of reparations. This approach risks further destabilizing oil markets and could lead to retaliatory measures from Tehran, potentially increasing the volatility of shipping costs and energy prices globally.
