Tehran slams Trump’s threat to use frozen Iranian assets as ‘incendiary’

President Trump says damages will be paid for by Iranian money that the US has ‘in its possession, and controls’.United States President Donald Trump has pledged to use frozen Iranian assets to pay for any damage to ships and cargo in the Strait of Hormuz, garnering strong condemnation from Tehran.Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated since the beginning of July as the two sides trade attacks and Tehran targets US military bases in the region.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What are the security implications of the US-Saudi nuclear deal?list 2 of 3US court affirms release of pro-Palestine scholar as legal battle continueslist 3 of 3Israel carries out blasts across south Lebanon despite ‘ceasefire’ dealend of listWashington completed its 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, with Trump saying he is considering a “massive attack” on the country, “bigger than ever before”.Writing on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump said that damages would be paid for by “Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls”.“These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do,” Trump added.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Trump’s comments and said in a post on X on Friday morning that seizing another country’s assets to “pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent”.“Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalise confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful,” he added.The case of Iran’s frozen assets has been an issue that the two sides had been discussing in the now-collapsed memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement that was signed between Tehran and Washington in June as a pathway to end the war.But the US and other governments have “frozen” Iranian assets for decades.