Iran says $270bn war loss must be compensated, as fresh talks with US loom

Tehran, Iran – Iran has demanded compensation for the destruction caused by attacks from the United States and Israel. This demand comes as the country maintains a defiant stance and regional powers continue their efforts to mediate an end to the ongoing conflict.
On Tuesday, Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations stated that five regional countries must provide compensation, alleging that their territories were utilized to launch attacks against Iran.
Iran has also proposed a mechanism for damage compensation through a Strait of Hormuz protocol, which would involve taxing ships transiting the crucial waterway.
According to an initial estimate, Iran has incurred approximately $270 billion in direct and indirect damages since the commencement of the US-Israel war on February 28. This was stated by Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani in an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, published on Tuesday.
While she did not offer further details or a breakdown of the damages, Mohajerani confirmed that the compensation issue was discussed during last week’s negotiations between Tehran and Washington in Pakistan and will be brought up in any future talks with the US and mediators.
The government reported that it is still evaluating the extensive damage inflicted upon Iran’s critical infrastructure, including repeated targeting of oil and gas facilities, petrochemical companies, steel plants, aluminum factories, and military complexes. Full reconstruction is expected to take years.
Bridges, ports, railway networks, universities, research centers, and several power and water desalination plants were also directly struck, alongside a significant number of hospitals, schools, and civilian homes that were damaged or destroyed.
‘Economic Realities’
Earlier this week, spokeswoman Mohajerani informed Iranian state media that “existing economic realities” prevent the government from having the resources to compensate civilians whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by US-Israeli attacks.
Meanwhile, Maghsoud Asadi Samani, secretary of the Association of Iranian Airlines, told Iranian media that 60 civilian aircraft have been rendered inoperable, with 20 completely destroyed by the US and Israel.
Samani stated that Iran currently operates only about 160 passenger aircraft, most of which are decades old and kept airborne through maintenance made challenging by a shortage of parts and services due to stringent US sanctions.
He added that airlines also lost substantial revenue anticipated during the Nowruz (Persian New Year) holidays in late March, with accumulated losses exceeding 300 trillion rials (approximately $190 million at the current exchange rate) over 40 days of conflict.
Several of the country’s international airports, including those in Tehran, Tabriz, Urmia, and Khorramabad, sustained significant damage from numerous attacks on their runways, control towers, and hangars.
Despite the extensive damage and the impact of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, which began on Monday, Iranian authorities have indicated no intention of making major concessions in negotiations with Washington, including on nuclear enrichment.
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the hardline-dominated parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, stated in a social media post that the two-week ceasefire announced last week should not be extended. He argued that an extension would allow the US and Israel to replenish their arms stocks and improve their attack positions.
“They must either recognize Iran’s rights, including our control over the Strait of Hormuz, or return to war,” he wrote.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank, Iran allocated nearly $8 billion for military spending in 2024, with officials pledging to triple that budget following missile exchanges with Israel in October of the same year. However, the government has also contended with years of budget constraints, exacerbated by local mismanagement, corruption, and US sanctions.
Internet Shutdown Causes Damage
For the seventh consecutive week, a near-total internet shutdown imposed by the state on over 90 million Iranians has compounded the country’s economic woes and frustrated its citizens.
Following extensive layoffs and lost business opportunities due to the blackout, the government has disclaimed authority over the matter, instead attributing blame to the Supreme National Security Council.
On Monday, Afshin Kolahi, head of an Iran Chamber of Commerce commission, stated during a video conference with state-affiliated and private executives that the shutdown was causing up to $80 million per day in direct and indirect economic damages.
“We are losing [the equivalent of] four B1 bridges every day. We are losing two medium-capacity power plants every day, and we are doing this ourselves,” he remarked, referring to the cost of the internet shutdown and referencing the US-Israeli bombing of a major bridge near Tehran earlier this month.
The Information and Communications Technology Ministry reposted the video of these comments on its social media account. In January, when the state imposed a 20-day near-total internet shutdown during nationwide anti-establishment protests that resulted in thousands of deaths, the ministry had previously stated that many online businesses could not survive without internet access for more than three weeks.
Now, with no immediate prospect of a full reconnection, the ministry is proceeding with plans to establish a tiered internet system.
This week, it announced that several business representatives, nominated by their communities, have registered for access to a global internet connection, while the majority of the population remains restricted to a limited local intranet.
Telecommunications companies are offering a new service called “Internet Pro” to select customers deemed eligible by the state. This service costs more than regular data packages but provides less filtered internet access. Some users have reported making payments and awaiting service activation.
However, even in the comments sections of state-linked sites, which are among the few online spaces where Iranians can currently express themselves, the internet remains the primary topic of discussion. On the website of the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the dominant hashtags call for “internet freedom.”
On Monday, security authorities ordered Digiato, a prominent technology-focused media outlet, to remove a countdown clock from its website that was tracking the duration of Iran’s digital darkness.
A lucrative black market continues to thrive for those selling Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other methods that potentially offer a link to the outside world.
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