President Donald Trump on Thursday offered a preview of what is in store for Iran, outlining a one-two punch that would lead to American control of Iran’s energy production.
“The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets.”
Trump said taking control will work “much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”
According to CNBC, about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports went through Kharg Island before the war.
CNBC reported that Trump told Fox News said he is unsure “America has the stomach” to carry out his plan.
“I think they’d like to see us come home, but we did it with Venezuela,” Trump said. “Venezuela’s worked out great for everybody.”
Will Trump follow through on this threat?
Yes: 87% (299 Votes)
No: 13% (43 Votes)
A report on CNN said that plans for the U.S. seizure of Kharg Island have existed for months, but have not been acted upon.
Seizing the island or destroying its energy infrastructure could lead to a bankrupt nation that could no longer fight a war, the thinking goes.
The downside is that taking control of the island requires a lot of American boots on the ground, which could set the stage for U.S. casualties.
Airstrikes on Kharg Island have targeted its defenses, but not its energy infrastructure.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said America is ready to let Iran feel its wrath, according to USA Today.
“If we need to negotiate with bombs, we’ll negotiate with bombs, and we’re very good at it. Nobody better in the world,” Hegseth said.
“President Trump said we’ll be hitting Iran hard, and we will be because Iran has a chance to make a good deal,” Hegseth said, according to the Times of Israel. “You can see when someone is trying to tap, tap, tap on a deal. Instead, they’re going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran.”
“We don’t have to restart,” Hegseth continued, adding that the military was “prepared to set the terms to ensure we get the kind of deal that President Trump expects.”
On Wednesday, Trump indicated on Truth Social he was losing patience with Iran, writing, “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”
Asked later about that post, Trump said, “Well, we’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” according to USA Today.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today.”
“And we’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers,” he said.
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