Trump threatens to hit Iran ‘very hard tonight’, seize Kharg Island – National

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to launch a major attack on Iran and take control of its oil industry as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of full-scale war.

Trump said in a social media post that the US would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “complete control” of Iran’s oil and gas industry, including the crucial Kharg Island oil terminal, in the “not too distant future.”

The American leader’s latest threat comes as negotiating efforts to end the war appear to be deadlocked. Trump has voiced his frustration with stalled talks, warning earlier in the week that Tehran would “pay the price” for taking too long to reach a deal.

Iran’s months-long stranglehold of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies, raised fuel prices and made food and other basic necessities more expensive outside the region.

The US and Iran exchanged attacks for a second straight day on Thursday after reaching a tenuous ceasefire more than a month ago. While the attacks have raised tensions in the region, they are more limited than in the early weeks of the war and negotiations between the US and Iran are ongoing.

Trump’s threat on Thursday, while firm, represented his latest verbal escalation in the Iran war. In April, he warned Iran that “the whole civilization will die tonight, and will never come back again” if the country does not agree to his terms, before extending the ceasefire.

Kharg Island – located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from US bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – is the heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of Iran’s exports flow. This is important because Iran’s coastline is largely too shallow for tankers to anchor.

It’s unclear how serious Trump is about his threat to seize the region.

“My preference all along has been to take Kharg Island,” Trump said in a Thursday interview on Fox News. “To be honest, I don’t know if America has the stomach to do that.”

American forces would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its proximity – about 33 kilometers (21 miles) – to the Iranian mainland, where missiles, drones and artillery can be fired.

Trump indicated in the interview that he remains opposed to sending US troops to Iran. “We could go in there tomorrow. We could bring in soldiers – I don’t want any soldiers on the ground. But if I wanted, we could put a small group of soldiers in and take over the place.”

Trump compared his threat to take over Iran’s oil industry to how the US took control of Venezuela’s oil sector after arresting then-president Nicolás Maduro in January.

Backlash rocked the Middle East for the third time this week. The first involved strikes between Iran and Israel, followed by two strikes between the US and Iran, targeting countries where US forces were based.

The US military’s Central Command said the airstrikes that ended Thursday morning targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communications systems and air defense sites.”

The explosion reverberated around the Iranian capital, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later said the locations attacked included a manufacturing complex, military barracks and a local Guard base outside Tehran.

Tehran said it was retaliating against attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours but did not report any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired at the area where the base hosts US troops, although no one was injured.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl was injured and cars and houses were damaged by debris from the intercepted Iranian attack.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the US strikes had “effectively rendered the ceasefire… meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on social media that the US would withdraw funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset losses caused to American allies as well as fees Iran imposes on ships seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

In addition to the impasse over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are peaceful. The US and Israel fear Tehran’s stockpile of enriched uranium could be used to make atomic weapons. That was the main reason they gave for going to war on February 28.

Iran insists that any deal to end the war must also end fighting in Lebanon between its allies Hezbollah and Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on achieving his goal of destroying the militant group.

A 25-year-old student in northern Iran said Iranians feared “chaos” amid the war with the US and Israel and a growing crisis at home.

The student, who lives in the city of Babol, said many Iranians are having difficulty buying food due to massive job losses and food inflation reaching three digits. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

“Everything is going wrong and there is no hope among the people,” the student added.

The student first spoke to The Associated Press before the war when he participated in widespread anti-government protests. He now says his main concern is Iran “maintaining territorial integrity and deterrence” in the face of US and Israeli attacks.

The American military’s Central Command said on Thursday that it attacked a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker that was trying to evade the American blockade of Iranian ports. It said the M/T Jalveer was transporting Iranian oil when it was disabled on Wednesday evening after its crew failed to comply with US orders.

This is the ninth merchant ship the US military says has been disabled to enforce the blockade.

Three Indian sailors were killed when American forces attacked the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello on Tuesday, the Indian minister overseeing ports and shipping said Thursday in X.

US Central Command said American forces issued a warning before firing on the ship, which it accused of trying to evade the blockade.

The head of the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, condemned the attack.

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert, Collin Binkley, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Victoria Eastwood and Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.