Post-war 'Iran bill' threat
Trump says nations that benefited from oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz but offered no help 'will and must' pay the US
![US President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing ceremony on beef at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 4 (local time). [Reuters]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/16/news-p.v1.20260916.92be468cd5b441f4b5527527e4a3c55a_P1.jpg)
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US President Donald Trump said countries that did not help the United States during the Iran war will be made to pay reparations once the conflict is over.
In a Truth Social post on Monday (local time), Trump wrote that "oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz" and that "the countries of the World that gave us no help whatsoever, will and must pay reparations when this whole fraudulent War is over."
He added, "We are doing this much more for other countries than we are for our own, and we have been doing so for many generations."
The remarks appear to reflect Trump's view that nations benefiting from the free passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz — secured by the US military presence there — should compensate Washington for its financial and military burden. With the Iran war, launched by the United States and Israel, dragging on and driving up global oil prices and domestic fuel costs, Trump appeared to be threatening to send a war bill to countries that have refused to join the fight.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war, Trump has pressed allies including South Korea and Japan to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz. On Aug. 16, he publicly announced a unilateral decision to sharply scale back the annual joint US-South Korea military exercises, while highlighting South Korea's lack of cooperation in the Iran war.
yckim6452@heraldcorp.com
