Trump floats invading Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran threatens to mine Persian Gulf
U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the idea of American forces seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf.
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the Financial Times in an interview Monday. “It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.”
Meanwhile, Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if its territory is invaded.
It is noteworthy that the island handles 90% of Iran’s oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran’s energy trade, placing enormous pressure on Tehran’s economy.
Trump also said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning and continuing over the next few days “out of a sign of respect.”
“I would only say that we’re doing extremely well in that negotiation but you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up,” he said.
Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long war. It was not clear whether the U.S. and Iran had agreed to attend.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has accused the U.S. of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time planning a ground invasion.
“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation,” he said in a message to the nation.
This comes as the U.S. Department of Defense has dispatched thousands of troops to the Middle East, giving Trump the option of launching a ground offensive.
The war has already threatened global supplies of oil and natural gas, sparked fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel.
Early Monday, the spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was around $115, up nearly 60% from Feb. 28, when the U.S. and the Zionist forces started the aggression on Iran.
