United States President Donald Trump has threatened to seize Iran’s main oil export terminal, Kharg Island, and take “total control” of the country’s energy markets as Washington pressed a third night of strikes on the Islamic Republic.
In a post on his Truth Social account on June 11, Trump said the US would take the island and other oil infrastructure points at an unspecified future date. He likened the plan to US policy on Venezuela, which he claimed was working out well for both countries.
Trump also said American forces would strike Iran hard later that night, in what would be the third consecutive round of US attacks since the two sides resumed trading fire this week.
Kharg Island, in the northern Persian Gulf about 15 miles off the Iranian coast, handles roughly 90 per cent of the country’s crude oil exports. Pipelines from several of Iran’s largest fields converge on the island before the oil is loaded onto tankers, making it a critical source of government revenue.
The US Navy has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports that has sharply reduced exports, though Washington had so far largely avoided striking or seizing the country’s oil and gas infrastructure.
In a later interview with Fox News, Trump appeared less certain, conceding he was unsure whether the US had the appetite for such an operation. Analysts have warned that any ground assault would be costly and risk drawing American troops within range of Iranian drones and missiles.
The threat pushed energy prices higher, with crude rising above $90 (€83) a barrel as traders weighed the risk of wider disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil and its near-closure has fed concern over European energy costs.
Tehran has dismissed an earlier ceasefire as “practically meaningless” and declared the Strait of Hormuz shut. Iran said it had fired back at US facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, as it had the previous day.
At least 13 US service members have been killed and more than 200 wounded since the latest fighting began, according to The Hill.
The two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is peaceful but which the US and Israel fear could be used to build a weapon.
