In the long arc of American diplomacy with Iran, financial grievance has rarely been weaponized as a negotiating instrument — until now. President Trump, responding to Iranian compensation claims stemming from a five-month military conflict, has instructed his representatives to pursue a reciprocal demand, introducing a new and untested variable into already fragile talks. The move unfolds against a backdrop of unresolved tensions over sanctions, a naval blockade, and control of the Strait of Hormuz — a passage so vital to global energy that its fate is never merely bilateral. Whether this esc