Donald Trump admitted that he “chose not to destroy the island’s oil infrastructure”, but left a warning to Iran: “If I do anything to impede the safe and free passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider my decision.”
US President Donald Trump assured this Friday that US forces had annihilated military targets on the Iranian island of Kharg and warned that local oil infrastructure could be the next target.
The US army “carried out one of the most powerful air strikes in the history of the Middle East and completely destroyed all military targets” in Kharg, the US president wrote on his social network, Truth Social.
“I chose not to destroy the island’s oil infrastructure. However, if Iran, or any other country, does anything to prevent the safe and free passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider my decision,” he assured.
The small island in the Persian Gulf is the main terminal through which Iran’s oil exports pass, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Trump announced the action in a social media post as he prepared to travel to Florida for the weekend.
The Republican answered questions from journalists who accompanied him before boarding Air Force One, but did not mention the most recent US military operation against Iran.
The US Armed Forces announced this Friday that they had sent 2,500 marines and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, in a major reinforcement of troops in the region after almost two weeks of war with Iran.
Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks against Israel and neighboring Gulf countries, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, even as US and Israeli warplanes bomb military and other targets throughout Iran.
In an interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump said the war will end “when you feel it in your bones.”
He was also more cautious about the possibility of opponents overthrowing the Islamic government.
“So I really think this is a big hurdle for people who don’t have guns to overcome,” Trump said.
In Washington, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that more than 15,000 enemy targets had been hit, more than 1,000 per day since the start of the war.
Hegseth also sought to reassure the population about the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, telling journalists: “We are dealing with it and we don’t have to worry.”
