President Donald Trump has answered Iran’s sweeping demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz with a demand of his own: Tehran must compensate Americans and Iranians killed or wounded over decades of conflict.

The declaration represents a dramatic new obstacle in already-fragile negotiations over one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Rather than narrowing the differences between Washington and Tehran, both sides are expanding their lists of conditions—raising fears that the strait could remain partially closed as energy prices climb and global markets grow increasingly anxious.

Trump announced his position Monday in a lengthy Truth Social post after Iranian officials demanded compensation for damage inflicted during five months of war.

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict,” Trump wrote, arguing that the war began because Iran could not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The president then turned Tehran’s demand back on the Iranian government.

“But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran,” Trump wrote, citing Americans allegedly killed or gravely injured by Iranian-backed attacks and the families of Iranian protesters killed by the regime.

Trump said he had instructed U.S. representatives to place the compensation demand “firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.”

The statement effectively creates a new American red line at the same moment Iranian officials are insisting that their own conditions are non-negotiable.

Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reportedly outlined six major requirements for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz. They include an end to the U.S. naval blockade, the withdrawal of American forces from the region, the lifting of sanctions and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets.

Tehran is also demanding compensation for damage caused during the current conflict and an earlier war, as well as an end to fighting in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Iraq. Another condition calls for Washington to stop threatening or insulting Iran.

Until the United States “corrects its behavior,” Iranian officials have warned, the strategic waterway will not return to normal operations.

The demands leave the two countries separated by far more than money.

Trump’s statement also contained claims that will face scrutiny. He referred to families of those killed aboard the USS Cole while listing victims for whom Iran should allegedly compensate the United States. The 2000 bombing of the American destroyer in Yemen was carried out by al-Qaeda, and Iran has not been publicly established as the perpetrator.

The president also cited enormous casualty figures involving Iranian protesters and people killed during the latest conflict. Such figures are extremely difficult to verify independently during wartime and should not be treated as settled without corroboration from credible monitoring organizations.

But the broader significance of Trump’s message is unmistakable: The negotiations are no longer solely about reopening the strait or Iran’s nuclear program. They are expanding into decades of bloodshed, sanctions, proxy warfare and competing historical grievances.

That expansion could make a deal exponentially harder to reach.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum liquids consumption traditionally passes through it, making any disruption a direct threat to global energy supplies.

The consequences are already being felt.

Oil prices have moved above $80 per barrel, while American consumers face higher gasoline and transportation costs. Because fuel prices affect shipping, agriculture and manufacturing, a prolonged closure could push up the cost of groceries and other everyday goods as well.

For Trump, that creates a dangerous political timetable. The 2026 midterm elections are approaching, and voters already frustrated by the cost of living may have little patience for an extended geopolitical standoff that keeps fuel prices elevated.

Iran understands that pressure.

Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, reiterated Monday that Tehran would not modify its conditions.

“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has no military solution,” he told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, insisting that the United States must accept what he described as a new regional order.

Despite the confrontation, a narrow diplomatic opening may remain.

Iran has reportedly been discussing a limited agreement with Oman that could permit some vessels to travel through a restricted passage. Such an arrangement would provide modest relief without restoring normal commercial traffic through the strait.

It could also allow both sides to claim that they had not surrendered.

But a temporary shipping corridor would not resolve the central conflict. Trump wants Iran held accountable for decades of violence, while Tehran is demanding American withdrawal, sanctions relief, released assets and enormous reparations.

Each government is now presenting conditions the other is highly unlikely to accept.

Trump’s new demand may appeal to Americans who believe Iran should answer for attacks carried out by its forces and proxies. Yet by transforming Tehran’s compensation demand into a competing American claim, the president has made an already complicated negotiation even more combustible.

The Strait of Hormuz may eventually reopen through diplomacy, economic pressure or a limited compromise negotiated by Oman. For now, however, Washington and Tehran appear to be moving in the opposite direction—building taller walls around their positions while the world waits for oil to move freely again.