Washington DC [US], March 30 : US President Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran's civilian energy infrastructure, including power plants, oil wells and Kharg Island, if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, Trump said, "Great progress has been made but, if 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."
He noted that Washington is engaging in "serious discussions" with a "new, and more reasonable" leadership in Tehran to bring an end to US military operations, a conflict that has lasted more than a month amid escalating regional tensions.
Trump's remarks came against a backdrop of heightened global concern over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for nearly one-fifth of world oil flows.
The president urged Iran to ensure that the waterway is "Open for Business," tying the resumption of maritime traffic directly to progress in talks aimed at ending hostilities.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran. Great progress has been made but, if 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." 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."
US officials have said indirect messages have been exchanged through intermediaries, though Tehran has publicly denied direct negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump has claimed that indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, facilitated by Pakistani intermediaries, are making "positive progress", as reported by the Financial Times.
Speaking about the ongoing backchannel diplomacy, Trump said talks are underway through Pakistani "emissaries", though he declined to provide specific details when asked whether a ceasfire deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached in the coming days, as reported by the Financial Times on Sunday (local time).
Trump on Sunday (local time) said he's optimistic about a deal with Iran, citing "very good negotiations" and Iran allowing 20 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a "sign of respect".
Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said, "I do see a deal in Iran, yeah. Could be soon.""So we've had very good negotiations today with Iran, getting a lot of the things that they should have given us a long time ago. See how it works out, but they're very good, moving along very nicely. And they've destroyed a lot of additional targets today. The Navy's gone, the Air Force's gone, we know that. We've destroyed many, many targets today. It was a big day. And we are negotiating with them directly and indirectly," he said further.
Kharg Island serves as Iran's main oil export hub, handling the vast majority of the country's crude shipments, and even though US strikes earlier in the conflict have targeted military assets on the island, its energy infrastructure had largely been left intact until now.
Following Trump's post today, the global energy market reacted sharply: oil prices surged amid fears of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which had already seen traffic sharply reduced following the outbreak of conflict.