President Donald Trump threatened late Thursday to launch new strikes against Iran and seize the country’s main oil export hub, Kharg Island, a major escalation in his administration’s monthslong campaign to force Tehran into a nuclear agreement. The threat came after a fresh wave of U.S. strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responded by targeting U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, raising the risk that a tenuous ceasefire will spiral back into full-fledged conflict.
In a Truth Social post Thursday night, Trump said the U.S. would strike Iran “VERY HARD” and, “in the not too distant future,” take Kharg Island off Iran’s southern coast. Trump said the U.S. would “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.” Seizing Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports, would likely require ground troops and represent a significant escalation of the conflict.
The president’s apparent decision to abandon the diplomatic route and pursue all-out military pressure marks his third shift in strategy toward Iran since the conflict began. Trump began the war in February ordering decapitation strikes on the Iranian regime, hoping a new leadership would comply with Washington’s nuclear demands. After a ceasefire in April, he pivoted to squeezing Iran’s economy through sanctions and a naval blockade until Tehran would have no choice but to dismantle its nuclear work and dispose of its enriched uranium, as MSI previously reported. Now, Trump is using brute military force to try to force Iran into submission.
The U.S. first bombed Kharg Island in March, hitting military targets surrounding the island’s oil infrastructure. Trump at the time said he chose not to “wipe out” the island’s energy terminals but warned he would reconsider that threat if Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz closed. In the ensuing months, Iran has maintained a sweeping blockade of most energy shipments out of the strait, roiling global energy markets.
Ramzy Mardini of Geopol Labs, a risk advisory firm based in the Middle East, said the strategy carries significant risks. “A few bombs are unlikely to move the needle on Iran’s bargaining position when it has already demonstrated the capacity and willingness to absorb heavy costs,” Mardini said. “Iran wants money up front because they have little to no confidence in the longevity of a deal from this administration.”
The fresh escalation follows weeks of impasse in negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Iran has expressed strong reservations about the terms offered by the U.S. and may once again absorb the military and economic pressure instead of folding, which would draw Trump deeper into a Middle East war without guarantees of success. Trump’s threats and the Iranian retaliatory strikes heighten the danger that a fragile ceasefire will give way to a broader regional conflict.