President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened yet another major escalation in the war with Iran, saying the US would launch new strikes overnight and eventually seek to take control of parts of Tehran's energy infrastructure.
It comes after the US attacked Iran for a second consecutive day, striking targets across the country as Tehran fired back at American bases in the region.
“The US will be hitting Iran … very hard tonight,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He also said the US could soon move to seize Kharg Island – Iran’s main oil export terminal – along with other energy assets.
“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,” he wrote.
Kharg Island is Iran’s most important oil export centre and handles the overwhelming majority of the country’s crude shipments.
Mr Trump compared the proposal to Washington's policy towards Venezuela, where, in January, the US captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and took control of the country's petroleum resources.
The comments mark a sharp escalation in rhetoric as fighting and negotiations continue in parallel following repeated breaches of the ceasefire agreed to earlier this year.
The latest development is likely to complicate Mr Trump's efforts to extend a tenuous ceasefire in the wider US-Israeli war with Iran into a durable settlement.
Iranian officials said Tehran has responded with two waves of attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Mr Trump in an interview on Fox News said that strikes would continue if Tehran does not capitulate in negotiations.
