ANKARA, Turkey — President Trump threatened to “take over Kharg Island” Wednesday and carry out additional strikes on Iran as tensions reignite — saying there was “not a thing” Tehran could do to stop the US.
Trump made the threat to seize the hub for about 90% of Iran’s oil exports while outlining a range of possible actions as he foreshadowed a second night of US attacks.
“In one day, we could knock down every single bridge in Iran. There’s not a thing they can do about it,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the sidelines of the NATO summit. “If we have to, we’ll take them out. They have desalination plants. We’ll take them out if we have to.
“Maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island.”
The president’s warning to Iran marked the first time he has threatened strikes on the regime while being physically within range of its missiles.
But that and past plots to assassinate Trump didn’t deter him Wednesday — though the president did announce plans not to fly out of Turkey aboard his prized new Air Force One after publicly musing that the Islamic Republic may one day kill him.
His decision to fly the older model of Air Force One from Ankara to the UK — ostensibly to facilitate a tour of the luxury airliner by American troops — sparked spculation that the new Qatar-donated luxury jet is less secure against enemy fire.
Earlier Wednesday, the US claimed to have carried out a wave of strikes on Iran in retaliation for Tehran attacking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
That came after the Treasury Department nixed a license allowing Iran to sell oil that had been approved as part of a memorandum of understanding signed by Trump June 17.
The preliminary pact was meant to set the stage for broader, ongoing negotiations with Tehran for a full-fledged peace deal.
Trump earlier teased that the US would “probably” attack Iran again Wednesday evening, reiterating that “there’s not a thing they can do about it.”
“There may be a big attack, and it would knock out a lot of stuff,” Trump also said.
“I’ll give them a little warning, we’re going to hit them hard tonight, but we’ll see how it all works out.”
Trump also threatened to reimpose a naval blockade of Iranian ports — which would likely be met with reciprocal action by Iran, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz and causing oil prices to spike.
“We may put it back, the blockade. Of course, they will drop some mines if they can,” he added. “But it’s hard because we’re taking out those little boats now with the same weapon we used to take out the drug lords and the boats coming in by sea.”
The president also suggested that mine-sweeping technology that the US has brought to the region will undermine Iran’s ability to wreak havoc in the Strait of Hormuz going forward.
The price of Brent crude jumped nearly 4.5% on the day after Trump spoke.
“Any time we hit them, it goes up a little,” the president conceded.
Trump told reporters earlier Wednesday during an event with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he’s aware that Iran wants to kill him — and admitted that they may one day succeed.
“They want to take out the US leader, me. I’m on every list,” Trump said. “I saw a thing this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky. But that maybe doesn’t last very long.”
During an appearance with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Trump said that he feels confident the Iran war already has blocked the theocratic nation’s path to a nuclear weapon, his core war aim.
“We’ve already got the nuclear material because it’s so far underground, nobody’s going to be able to get it except us,” he insisted.
Notably, Trump kept his options open and remained vague on whether he plans to resume a full-scale war or use the threat of force to compel Tehran back to the bargaining table.
When asked by a reporter if the preliminary peace deal was dead, Trump replied: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.”
“They’re vicious, violent people… so far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Trump said. “So far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars.”
“Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time with them,” the president added before caveating: “Now I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it.”
