Jul 24, 2026 09:00 AM IST Iranian FM: Seizing nation’s assets to pay for future claims sets 'incendiary precedent' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that seizing another nation's assets to cover unrelated future claims sets a dangerous precedent, cautioning in a post on X that once governments normalise confiscation, no one's assets remain safe and that the resulting chaos would not be peaceful.
His remarks came after President Trump said on Truth Social that any damage to ships or cargo would be paid for using Iranian funds the US holds and controls, calling it the fair and equitable thing to do despite the potentially substantial cost, following renewed attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi ships in the Red Sea and repeated Iranian strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The unfreezing of Iran's assets had been a central demand in the June memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, an agreement neither side has honoured, and while the total value of Iran's frozen assets is hard to pin down given how widely they're spread across global financial networks, Iranian media and analysts estimate the figure at between $124 billion and $167 billion, according to CNN.
