US Strikes on Iran Enter 13th Night as Trump Vows to Use Frozen Assets for Damages

The United States has carried out strikes against Iran for a 13th consecutive night, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM), as the conflict over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continues to escalate. President Donald Trump has said that any damage to ships or cargo will be paid for using Iranian money that the US has 'in its possession, and controls.'

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: 'From this point forth, 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 added that the damages 'may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do.'

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the remarks, saying in a post on X that seizing another country's assets to 'pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.' He warned that 'once governments normalise confiscation, no one's assets are safe' and that the 'ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.'

The latest US strikes come after a ceasefire deal between the two sides collapsed earlier this month. The US has now been attacking targets across Iran for 13 nights in a row, according to CENTCOM, which said the strikes aim to reduce Iran's ability to threaten ships in regional waters amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflict has drawn in other actors. Yemen's Houthis have claimed attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, saying the tankers violated a naval blockade. The Houthis said they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, though further details were not immediately available.

In a related development, the Trump administration has announced a historic US-Saudi nuclear energy deal, which was signed alongside a separate bilateral safeguards pact. The security implications of the deal have been the subject of discussion.

Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated since the beginning of July, with both sides trading attacks and Iran targeting US military bases in the region. Trump has also threatened a 'massive attack' on Iran, 'bigger than ever before,' according to his Truth Social posts.

Trump has warned that the US would destroy one bridge or power plant for every Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring a growing focus on civilian and economic infrastructure in the conflict.

Iran's frozen assets have been a point of contention between the two sides, with discussions taking place in the now-collapsed memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement signed in June as a pathway to end the war. However, the US and other governments have frozen Iranian assets for decades. The exact amount of frozen money belonging to Iran is not publicly known.