President Donald Trump revealed in an interview Sunday that he wants to seize Iran’s oil by taking control of Kharg Island.
Speaking with the Financial Times, Trump said that his “preference would be to take the oil.”
“To be honest with you, my favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he said.
Acquiring control of Iran’s oil would require seizing Kharg Island, which serves as the loading and export point for up to 90 to 94 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Kharg Island: 🇮🇷🇺🇸The Hub That Powers 90% of Iran’s Oil Revenue.
Kharg Island is important because it is the main gateway for Iran’s oil exports, which are a critical source of government revenue. Since a large majority of Iran’s crude oil leaves through this single terminal,… pic.twitter.com/BcrPP2ARO6
— Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) March 15, 2026
“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” the president continued. “I don’t think they have any defense. We could take it very easily.”
The president doubled down early Monday morning, writing on the social media platform Truth Social that he was prepared to potentially “blow up” Kharg Island if Iran refused to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“[I]f for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched,’” he wrote.
“This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror.’ Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president added.
In his statements to the Times, however, the president expressed confidence in a deal being made, saying, “We’ve got about 3,000 targets left — we’ve bombed 13,000 targets — and another couple of thousand targets to go. A deal could be made fairly quickly.”
JUST IN – Trump says if deal is not reached with Iran and Hormuz Strait opened, U.S. “will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!).” pic.twitter.com/bq5bZG86A5
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 30, 2026
The president has proposed a 15-point plan to end the war, but the problem is Iran has thus far refused to play ball.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said over the weekend that the United States is “unaware that our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can set them ablaze and punish their regional partners forever,” according to NBC News.
But according to the BBC, the Iranian people don’t appear to be as confident as their leaders, especially regarding their ability to defend Kharg Island from an attack by Trump.
“I am very worried and anxious about it,” an Iranian woman in her 20s told the outlet. “The most important thing is that it is part of Iran’s soil. I think it is going to put a lot of pressure on ordinary people if it happens.”
An Iranian man in his 30s meanwhile expressed skepticism about his country’s ability to hold onto the island.
“Obviously I will not be happy, but I want to see what the Islamic Republic will do,” he admitted. “They have been saying for years that they have a powerful navy, and I am skeptical.”
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