US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States may hit Iran’s Kharg Island a few more times “just for fun”, a day after he said American forces had “obliterated” targets on the Islamic Republic’s “crown jewel”. The island is central to Iran’s oil system since it hosts the main terminal that oversees the country’s oil exports.
Notably, Iran claimed that the US used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to carry out strikes on Kharg Island. The authorities also called on people to move away from locations where it said US forces were taking shelter. Follow Iran-US war live updates here.
Trump hints at more strikes on Kharg ‘just for fun’
US Central Command said on Saturday morning that it carried out “precision strikes” on 90 military targets while “preserving the oil infrastructure.” Later that day, Trump said, “We totally demolished Kharg Island, but we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
“We’ve totally decimated it,” the president said in an interview with NBC News.
“Except, as you know, I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years,” he added.
Notably, the island serves as the export terminal for about 90% of Iran’s oil shipments and lies roughly 300 miles (483 km) north west of the strait.
Iran’s armed forces said on Saturday that any strike on the country’s oil and energy infrastructure would lead to attacks on facilities belonging to oil companies working alongside the US in the region, local media reported.
Trump on ‘deal’ with Iran
In a post on Truth Social on Friday (local time), the US president claimed that Tehran is now seeking a deal.
“The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal,” he wrote.
Trump also said the deal Iran is trying to reach is not something he would accept. “But not a deal that I would accept! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
Tehran has not responded to the US president’s remarks so far.