DONALD Trump has said the United States will strike Iran “very hard tonight” and will take a major oil terminal on Kharg Island in the “not too distant future” as the two countries exchange fire overnight.
The US president's threat comes after the American military launched a more intense and wider attack against Iran than the previous day, which lasted until Thursday morning, with Tehran releasing little information on the extent of the damage.
An Indian official said a US attack on an oil tanker allegedly trying to violate Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports killed three Indian mariners, underscoring the danger to seafarers.
It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East.
The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the US and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.
The new exchange of fire came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war appeared stuck, with Trump stating that US forces will be “taking” Kharg Island at “some point in the not too distant future”.
Trump claimed he will take control of Iran’s oil and gas markets, “much like we have with Venezuela” which has since seen the price of oil rise by around $2 since his comments.
Kharg, a small island off the coast of Iran, is home to a major oil terminal that is widely considered the country's economic lifeline.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT.
“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, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s comments come after the US launched strikes on Kharg on March 13, with the US president claiming at the time that they had “totally obliterated” every military target on the island.
Taking Kharg could choke off Iran's oil exports and provide a platform for the US military to carry out attacks against the mainland while it could also be used by Trump as leverage to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the US attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire … meaningless”, without saying it was abandoning it.
Central to the negotiations is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.
Iran announced on Thursday that the strait was closed, but it was unclear what that meant since it has severely restricted traffic through the waterway since early in the war and only a trickle of ships have got through.
The US military’s Central Command disputed the claim, and Trump said on Wednesday that the US has undertaken a secret mission in recent weeks to sneak ships through the passage.
The two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran says is peaceful but which the US and Israel fear could be used to build an atomic weapon due to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
