US president Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iran’s oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island, as well as power generation facilities if the strait of Hormuz is not reopened, marking a sharp escalation in rhetoric as the conflict with Tehran deepens.
“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 desalination plants!),” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump added that the US has “purposefully not yet touched” those assets, noting that attacking the sites 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'”.
The threat expands on earlier comments in which Trump floated seizing Iran’s oil and taking control of Kharg Island, the country’s main export hub handling over 90pc of crude shipments.
Trump, earlier, also said the US is engaged in “serious discussions with a new, and more reasonable regime” in Iran to end military operations, suggesting a parallel diplomatic track even as military pressure intensifies.
In his post today, Trump said that the US is “in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE REGIME.”
Trumps’ threats underscore rising risks to Iran’s oil supply, with Kharg Island alone accounting for 1.64mn b/d of Iran’s 1.8mn b/d exports in the first quarter of 2026, according to Kpler data.
Any sustained disruption to Iran’s upstream infrastructure on Kharg island would significantly curb Tehran’s revenues and further tighten global crude balances.
Trump’s warning with potential strikes on electricity generation and desalination facilities raising the prospect of risks for neighboring Mideast gulf countries, that have seen their infrastructure being targeted by Iran in retaliation.
