Trump warns of more strikes on Iran’s oil export hub
US President Donald Trump is threatening further attacks on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub as Tehran vows to intensify its response and is urging allies to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, an artery for global energy supplies.
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is in its third week, with Trump saying U.S. strikes have “completely destroyed” much of the island and warning of more, telling NBC News on Saturday that “we might hit it a few more times just for fun.”
These remarks mark a sharp escalation from Trump, who had previously said the US was only targeting military sites in Kharg, undermining diplomatic efforts.
His administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start talks, three sources told Reuters.
The war showed no signs of ending. Trump said Tehran appeared ready to make a deal to end the conflict, but “the conditions are not good enough yet.”
Tehran’s ability to stop shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, poses a difficult problem for the United States and its allies.
While the war is causing the biggest ever cut in oil supply, energy prices are also rising and the energy crisis looks set to continue.
“Countries of the World that receive Oil from the Strait of Hormuz should be interested in this transition, and we will help – A LOT!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
“The United States will also coordinate with these countries to ensure that everything goes quickly, smoothly and well.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran will respond to any attack on its energy facilities.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Sunday that it had launched missile and drone attacks on targets in Israel and three US bases in the region, describing the attacks as the first round of reprisals against workers killed in Iran’s industrial zones.
The Israeli military said it intercepted the incoming launches.
The defense ministry said Saudi Arabia captured and destroyed 10 UAVs in Riyadh and the east.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had no connection with the attack, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
A drone strike disrupted a major energy hub of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, and the United States warned US citizens to leave Iraq on Saturday.
The war launched by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 28 has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran, according to reports from governments and state media.
At least 15 people were killed in an airstrike on a refrigerator and heater factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the semi-official Fars news agency said on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN that Russia is providing Iran with Shahid drones for use against the United States and Israel.
Although their manufacturers are not always clear, Shah UAVs are thought to be linked to other attacks on countries in the region.
The disruptions in the oil market are unlikely to end anytime soon.
Some oil loading operations have been suspended following a drone attack in the UAE’s Emirate of Fujairah, a global ship refueling hub, industry and trade sources said on Saturday.
In his post on the Truth Social platform, Trump called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, England and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
None of these countries have given any direct indication that they would do so.
Takayuki Kobayashi, policy chief of Japan’s ruling party, refused to rule out the possibility but told public broadcaster NHK that “the (legal) threshold is very high.”
Japan interprets its post-war pacifist constitution to mean that it can deploy its army if the country’s existence is threatened; however, the government will have to invoke a security law that was not used in 2015.
Officials said France is trying to form a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the security situation stabilizes, while Britain is discussing a range of options with its allies to ensure the safety of shipping.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his murdered father, said that the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
