Iran warns Trump's plan to use frozen assets to cover damage to ships in Hormuz sets dangerous precedent

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned US President Donald Trump's pledge to use frozen Iranian assets to cover potential damage to ships and cargo in the Strait of Hormuz from military strikes, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

"Seizing another nation's assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent," Araghchi said Friday in a post on the US social media platform X.

"Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one's assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful," he added.

Araghchi's remarks came after Trump said Thursday that the US would use Iranian funds already under Washington’s control to pay for any damage caused to ships, cargo or related assets in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls," he said on his Truth Social platform.

He did not identify the specific source of the funds, but billions of dollars in Iranian assets remain frozen under American sanctions.

The latest dispute comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran, with both sides engaged in a series of strikes and retaliatory attacks across the region.