Donald Trump has escalated the rhetoric of the Iran war to its most dangerous pitch yet. In an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday, the president said his “favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran” and openly discussed seizing Kharg Island, the small Persian Gulf terminal through which roughly 90% of Iranian crude exports pass.
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump said, adding that a seizure “would also mean we had to be there for a while.” He dismissed domestic critics as “stupid people” who don’t understand the strategic value of controlling Iran’s oil.
Hours later, on Monday morning, Trump doubled down. He warned that the United States would “completely obliterate” Iran’s electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island itself if Tehran does not “immediately” reopen the Strait of Hormuz and agree to a peace deal “shortly.”
The Kharg Island question
Kharg Island is a 20-square-kilometre slab of rock sitting 25 kilometres off Iran’s southern coast. It handles the vast majority of the country’s oil exports and is the jugular vein of the Iranian economy. A US seizure would be the most aggressive American land operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The Trump administration has reportedly weighed sending ground forces to the island, according to Reuters, with one source warning that such an operation would be “very risky.” Iran has fortified Kharg with anti-ship missiles, naval mines, and IRGC fast-attack boats. Military analysts say a seizure would require a major amphibious operation backed by overwhelming air power — and would trigger a ferocious Iranian response.
Oil markets react
Brent crude surged past $116 a barrel on Monday, its highest level since the first week of the war, as traders priced in the possibility of a direct US strike on Iranian energy infrastructure. Asian markets sold off heavily: the Kospi plunged more than 5%, the Nikkei fell nearly 4%, and the ASX 200 shed 0.65%.
The threat to “obliterate” oil wells and power stations marks a significant escalation. Until now, US and Israeli strikes have focused on military targets — air defences, missile sites, IRGC facilities, and command bunkers. Deliberately destroying civilian energy infrastructure would cross a line that even hawkish allies have urged Washington not to approach.
Tehran responds
Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump’s comments “the ravings of a colonial pirate” and said any attempt to seize Kharg Island would be met with “the full force of the Iranian nation.” The IRGC warned that it would sink every US vessel in the Persian Gulf if American forces attempted a landing.
As the war enters its fifth week, the gap between American demands and Iranian red lines appears to be widening, not narrowing. Trump says Iran has agreed to “most of” his 15-point plan. Tehran says no such agreement exists. And the president is now publicly fantasising about seizing the one asset that gives Iran leverage: its oil.