Iran FM warns Trump's plan for frozen assets sets 'incendiary precedent'

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, strongly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to use frozen Iranian assets to compensate for damages to commercial ships in the Gulf. Araghchi described the plan as setting a dangerous and "incendiary precedent" for the seizure of national assets.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Araghchi asserted, "Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims (...) creates an incendiary precedent." He cautioned that normalizing such confiscation could jeopardize assets globally, warning of potential "chaos" if governments begin to routinely seize foreign funds.

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Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims (...) creates an incendiary precedent.

President Trump had announced on his Truth Social platform that all damages to ships, their cargo, or related entities would henceforth be paid using Iranian funds held or controlled by the United States. Details on the mechanism for this process were not provided.

This exchange occurs against a backdrop of reported Iranian drone attacks targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Jordan. The Iranian army claimed responsibility, stating that drones struck fuel storage tanks, equipment depots, and living quarters at the Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain, and aircraft hangars, maintenance facilities, and living quarters at the Muwaffaq Salti/Al-Azraq base in Jordan. The Iranian military warned that any actions against Iran's interests would undermine regional security and economic stability.

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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.