Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States could carry out more attacks on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub “just for fun,” saying that while Tehran appears willing to reach a deal to end the conflict, “the terms are not good enough yet.”
He said the American strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island and told NBC News that “we could attack it a few more times just for fun.”
During that same interview with NBC, Trump questioned, without attribution, whether Iran’s new supreme leader “is even alive.”
Trump also said it is unclear whether Iran dropped mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the 30-minute phone call with NBC.
“We are going to sweep the strait very hard and we believe that we will be joined by other countries that in some way have obstacles, and in some cases are prevented, from obtaining oil,” he added.
Trump’s comments come as he renewed his call Saturday for other nations to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and said the United States will coordinate with them amid the US-Israel war against Iran.
“The United States of America has completely defeated and decimated Iran, militarily, economically and in every other way, but the countries of the world that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz must take care of that step, and we will help… A LOT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
He added that “the United States will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly and well. This should always have been a team effort, and now it will be: uniting the world towards harmony, security and eternal peace!”
Trump’s assertion that “this should always have been a team effort” could be seen as something of a reversal from his previous stances that Operation Epic Fury was a unilateral show of force (plus Israel) that did not require international permission. With the current disruption to global oil supplies, it is increasingly up to the international community to help manage the effects.
At the same time, Trump has long argued that the United States pays too much to protect global trade routes (such as the Strait of Hormuz) that he says primarily benefit other countries such as China or European nations.
