TRUMP TARGETS IRAN’S KHARG OIL HUB
Published: 05:06 PM,Jun 11,2026 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 11,2026
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to take over Iran's oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island but he was not sure Americans have the stomach for a major escalation in the war.
'My preference has always been - take Kharg Island... my preference would be that. I don't know that America has the stomach for it,' he said in an interview on Fox News.
After more than three months of war, Iran still has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a critical supply route for oil and gas shipping, and has retained its stockpile of enriched uranium.
The US and Iran traded air attacks on Thursday for a second day in a worsening of hostilities that has undermined prospects for a swift end to the war.
Trump said the US will attack Iran again with intensified strikes but he would rather not hit bridges and power plants.
'There will be more bombing tonight. It will be bigger - bigger, more powerful,' he said on the 'Fox & Friends' programme.
Despite plans for more strikes, Trump said the US is still talking with Iran to reach a deal.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to use Iranian funds to pay for damages that the country causes on Gulf allies, warning of sharp economic consequences from Tehran's attacks.
'Any damage it inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian Accounts,' Bessent wrote on X.
His comments came as Washington issued fresh threats in the war with the Islamic republic, and President Donald Trump said on Thursday morning that he would launch new strikes on the country and eventually take its key oil infrastructure.
The United States and Israel launched strikes targeting Iran from late February, sparking a war that has engulfed the Middle East and snarled key energy supply chains - sending energy costs rocketing.
Bessent said on Thursday that Tehran's attacks 'will only deepen the economic and financial consequences it faces.'
The White House did not immediately respond to a question on whether the ceasefire agreed in April remains in place.
Iranian sources and Western officials said indirect US-Iranian talks on a preliminary peace deal had intensified.
'The whole thing is crazy,' Trump said. 'They're really in submission. They just don't know it yet.'
The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and pushed up global oil prices since the US and Israel launched heavy air strikes on Iran on February 28.
- Reuters