ALBAWABA- U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an unusually forceful escalation warning, declaring that the United States will strike Iran “VERY HARD tonight” and suggesting that Washington could eventually move to take control of key Iranian oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island.
In a post on Truth Social, widely reported by U.S. media outlets, Trump said that “at some point in the not too distant future” the United States could target and potentially assume control of Iran’s oil and gas assets, including Kharg Island, describing them as critical to Tehran’s energy exports. He compared the potential strategy to past U.S. actions involving oil leverage in other countries.
Trump also claimed that Iran’s naval, air, radar, and air-defence capabilities have been largely “gone,” adding that further and more powerful strikes were imminent. His comments were echoed in subsequent remarks and interviews, reinforcing expectations of additional military action.
The statements come amid an ongoing and rapidly intensifying U.S.-Iran confrontation that escalated earlier in 2026, involving repeated American strikes on Iranian military infrastructure and sustained tensions over regional energy and maritime security.
Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf, is a strategic hub responsible for the vast majority of the country’s crude exports. It has previously been targeted in limited U.S. strikes on military-related facilities, though its core oil infrastructure has so far largely remained intact. Any attempt to seize or fully disrupt the site would represent a major escalation with severe global economic consequences.
The broader conflict has already seen heightened U.S. naval activity in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor through which a significant share of global oil trade flows. Washington has reportedly enforced tighter maritime restrictions and intercepted or turned back multiple vessels amid fears of Iranian disruption attempts.
Trump has repeatedly framed U.S. operations in the region as both military and economic in scope, suggesting in recent statements that Washington could exert long-term control over Iranian energy assets as leverage in the conflict. He has also claimed, without providing evidence, that U.S. forces have been covertly extracting or diverting Iranian oil shipments as part of ongoing operations.
While U.S. forces have carried out strikes on Iranian military sites in recent months, there has been no confirmed ground seizure of Kharg Island or other energy infrastructure. Officials and analysts warn that any move in that direction would carry high risks of regional escalation, retaliation by Iran and its allies, and severe disruption to global energy markets.
