Trump says will hit Iran 'very hard' Thursday night

DUBAI/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States would hit Iran "very hard tonight" and wanted at some point to take Iran's oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island, after a second day of strikes by both sides in the Gulf threatened a return to all-out war.

Iranian sources and Western officials said indirect US-Iranian talks on a preliminary peace deal had intensified. But the renewed hostilities this week have undermined the prospects for a swift end to more than three months of war.

"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 said in a social media post.

"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, much like we have with Venezuela," he said, referring to Iran's main oil hub.

Iran exports most of its oil via Kharg Island with volumes usually accounting for around 2 per cent of global supply and flowing mainly to China.

Iran's ​top negotiator Mohammad Baqer ​Qalibaf warned against any rash moves.

"Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years. You will see a different Iran," he wrote on X.

Iran's top joint military command said in a statement that the US would receive a more severe response than before if it were to go ahead with renewed attacks.

After Trump's threat, Iran's Red Crescent said in a statement on its Telegram channel that it had mobilised its members across the country.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on both sides to redouble their efforts "towards a peaceful, comprehensive, and durable agreement that advances regional and international peace and security," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and pushed up global oil prices since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

Oil prices were almost flat on Thursday, however, as investors weighed Trump's comments with the actual impact of supply disruptions from the conflict.

The Trump administration has framed this week's strikes both as acts of self-defence and as a negotiating strategy. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the attacks would improve the U.S. position at the bargaining table, adding: "If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs."

Any move to capture Kharg Island would not have an immediate impact on oil shipments because flows have been suspended in recent weeks following a US blockade of Iranian oil exports - imposed after Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for oil and liquefied natural gas.

INTENSIFIED TALKS

Despite the latest hostilities, three Iranian sources and Western officials said US-Iranian talks had intensified, with some issues yet to be discussed in detail, including a mechanism for the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.

"This war, from a military standpoint, is a dead end. The Americans could not achieve their goals by attacking Iran. There has been progress in negotiations," said one of the Iranian sources.

Iran wants its funds abroad to be unfrozen and released directly to Tehran, while Washington wants to release funds in stages for humanitarian goods, the sources said.

Tehran is also demanding an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran and recognition of its control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says Iran must end restrictions on shipping through the strait and that any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such ambition.

Trump told Fox News on Thursday the US was still talking with Iran.

"We are talking to them and all, but you know, look, my preference has always been - take Kharg Island ... my preference would be that. I don't know that America has the stomach for it," he said.

The US would have to deploy ground forces to seize the Kharg Island complex, a goal analysts say could be achieved relatively quickly but may not lead to a quick end to the war. US troops would be exposed to missile and drone attacks during any assault.