"Countries That Didn't Help US Must Pay Reparations"... Threatens Another Bill

[Anchor]

US President Donald Trump stated that he will demand reparations from countries that did not help the United States in the war with Iran. With little possibility of the Iran war ending before the midterm elections, this appears to be a strategy to divert the attention of the domestic US public, who are angered by soaring oil prices and market interest rates.

This is Correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam reporting from Washington.

[Reporter]

US President Donald Trump claimed on his social media that "countries around the world that did not provide us with any help in the war with Iran must pay reparations when the war is over."

Trump added, "We have done far more for other countries than for ourselves, and we have done so for generations."

This is interpreted as meaning that since the US military has deployed forces to the Strait of Hormuz to help oil tankers navigate freely, the beneficiary nations should compensate for the costs resulting from the US financial and military burden.

Some analyze this as an outburst driven by frustration over the prolonged war with Iran causing oil prices to surge, which acts as an unfavorable factor for the midterm elections.

The Trump administration has previously urged allies and partner nations, including South Korea, to participate in operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

[Chris Wright / US Secretary of Energy (on the 7th): I think other countries will join in this effort (deploying military assets) going forward, because global trade is important.]

Recently, in particular, dissatisfaction has been openly expressed regarding the level of South Korea's contributions related to Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Axios reported, citing US officials, that "after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to seize a US Navy drone on the 14th, the US military destroyed two Iranian small vessels."

The US military did not make this incident public, while Iranian state media claimed that two fishing boats were struck by a drone attack, leaving multiple fishermen missing.

A US official told Axios that the US military fired two missiles to destroy the vessels, and most of those on board were killed.

President Trump has previously claimed that all underwater mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared, and that oil tankers are operating normally under the protection of the US military.

However, US media outlets pointed out that this incident revealed that the United States and Iran are still engaged in military clashes in Hormuz.

(Camera: Park Eun-ha | Video Editing: Kim Byeong-jik | Design: Shim Su-hyeon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.