U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil and gas industries.
This comes as continuing attacks between the warring countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.
Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and would “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island oil terminal.
Trump compared his plans for Iran to how the U.S. assumed control of Venezuela’s oil sector after capturing then-President Nicolás Maduro in January.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela.”
Donald Trump
Trump also repeated that the capabilities of the Iranian armed forces have been destroyed.
Kharg Island, located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It is important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.
American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its close proximity — about 33 kilometers (21 miles) — to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired.
Speaking to a news agency, the US President stated that his administration is talking to Iran, but he would prefer to take the country’s oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island. He told the news channel that he would prefer not to hit bridges and power plants in Iran, but added that there will be more US attacks and they will be “bigger” and “more powerful.”
Trump’s post and remarks come after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and widespread than the day before. Iran said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had a day before.
Trump’s threats, while stark, represented his latest verbal escalation in the Iran war. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire in the war.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for legal and international affairs, said in a post on X that the US’s latest attack on Iran is “a widespread and utter nullification of the ceasefire.”
“Describing these attacks as ‘self-defense,’ as stated in the statement of the terrorist entity CENTCOM, has no legal effect. In international law, the aggressor does not evade the consequences of its actions by changing the title, and military aggression does not become legitimate through wordplay.”
Kazem Gharibabadi
He said that Iran’s army will “stand firm against any aggression and, with a decisive, authoritative, and regret-inducing response, defend every inch of the country’s soil.” “The full consequences of these illegal and dangerous actions will fall upon America and any party that participates in, facilitates, or assists them,” he added.
Bessent Says Iran To Lose “Zero-sum Game”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned in a post on X that Iran’s current strategy in the Gulf will carry economic and financial costs, vowing that any hostile moves will be met with punitive measures on Tehran’s assets.
“The Iranian regime will lose the zero-sum game it is playing. Any damage it inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian Accounts.”
Scott Bessent
He also warned that any tolls paid to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will be “offset by funds extracted from their accounts.”
Responding to reports that the US could use frozen Iranian assets to compensate allies for war-related damages, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday that governments in the region were “not in a position to demand reparations.”
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