President Donald Trump says he is now demanding compensation from Iran for Americans killed in Iranian-linked attacks and for the families of protesters killed by Tehran's security forces. The demand follows Iran's own request for damages from the countries' five-month military conflict, and echoes a Washington coalition that gathered in July 2026 to press for restitution before any sanctions relief.
Trump said he is demanding compensation from Iran after he saw Iranian representatives ask for their own damages tied to the countries' five-month military conflict. In a Truth Social post, he said Iran should pay for the people it has killed and gravely wounded with roadside bombs and other conflicts, which he said were led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole and thousands of others killed in combat.
He also said compensation should go to the families of the hundreds of thousands of protesters Iran has killed over the last 50 years. Trump pointed specifically to 52,000 people killed in the last five months, and said he has instructed his representatives to put the demand into future negotiations with Tehran.
A Washington coalition presses for restitution first
Separately, over 100 victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism and their families gathered in Washington on July 20, 2026 to demand that any release or unfreezing of Iranian assets be conditioned on restitution. The coalition pointed to years of US court rulings holding Iran liable for damages tied to terrorist attacks, chief among them the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing, which killed 241 US servicemen.
Protester deaths also part of the demand
Trump has separately called on Iran to account for the killing of its own citizens during protests earlier in 2026, warning Iranian authorities they would "pay a big price" for the crackdown. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, over 2,000 protesters were killed during demonstrations in Iran in January 2026.
During the Obama administration, the release of frozen Iranian funds was a central part of the 2015 nuclear deal, and critics argued at the time that the money should have gone to terrorism victims first. US courts have awarded billions of dollars in damages against Iran under the state-sponsor-of-terrorism exception to sovereign immunity. Tying those judgments to asset negotiations gives the rulings teeth they have never had before.
Sources: Investinglive, Crypto Briefing
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