The United States will use frozen Iranian funds to pay for damages to ships, according to President Donald Trump.
Trump stated that damages to ships and cargo would be paid with Iranian funds frozen by the US after new attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen further strained global energy flows.
These damages can be very substantial.
Trump said on Thursday in a social media post that “from now on, all damages caused to ships, cargo, or anything related to it, will be paid with Iranian money that the US has in its possession and control”.
He added that this is the fair and equitable thing to do.
The president did not provide details on how such payments would work, including whether the US would pay directly to shipping companies.
Tensions between the US and Iran have intensified in recent days.
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Trump has increased his threats against Iran following numerous confrontations between the two countries over the past two weeks.
The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, further escalating the conflict.
The Iranian funds managed by the US amount to approximately $2 billion within US borders.
A much larger portion is held in other countries’ jurisdictions and is prohibited from being transferred due to US sanctions.
Estimates of these funds range from $24 billion to over $100 billion.
The release of these funds, along with the lifting of US sanctions and the creation of a $300 billion initiative to invest in Iran, were key elements of a memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is not mentioned, instead it is mentioned that the president Trump and the president iraní Masoud Pezeshkian is not the president of Iran, the president of Iran is Hassan Rouhani, in June.
However, the use of these funds is highly controversial, and victims of terrorist attacks linked to Iran over the past few decades are calling on the US president to instead compensate them for their losses and injuries.
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The memorandum between the US and Iran was vague regarding when and under what circumstances Iran could access the money.
The subsequent resumption of Trump’s war efforts frustrated the proposed peace agreement outlined in the memorandum.
The US has frozen Iranian funds as part of its sanctions against the country.
The situation is complex, and the use of frozen funds to pay for damages is a topic of debate.
The US and Iran have a long history of tensions, and the use of frozen funds to pay for damages is just one aspect of the complex relationship between the two countries.
As the situation continues to unfold, the use of frozen Iranian funds to pay for damages to ships and cargo is a significant development in the ongoing tensions between the US and Iran.
The history of US-Iran relations is complex, and this latest move is likely to have far-reaching consequences.
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