President Donald Trump revealed that he may launch more strikes on Kharg Island, Iran‘s oil lifeline that he just bombed on Friday night.
The U.S. military targeted Iran’s military in the strike on Kharg, hitting 90 different targets including naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers, according to U.S. Central Command. Trump said the strikes “totally obliterated” Iran’s military on the island, calling the operation “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East.”
Despite the supposed destruction, Trump is signaling he’s far from done with Kharg.
Speaking to NBC News on Saturday, he said that while the island is “totally demolished,” the U.S. military “may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
That statement comes as Trump left Iran’s oil infrastructure on Kharg untouched in the bombing. He told NBC News he made that decision because it would “take years” to rebuild, but he previously left the strike option open.
In his initial announcement on Friday, Trump said he would “reconsider” whether to target the oil infrastructure if Iran prevents ships from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway for global shipping.
So far, Iran appears to avoiding that prospect, letting two Indian tankers cross the strait on Saturday.
The U.S. Navy will also be directly escorting ships through the waterway “very soon,” Trump told reporters after the Kharg strikes.
IRAN CLAIMS US ALSO HIT ANOTHER ISLAND DURING KHARG BOMBING
More countries could be joining that effort as well. Earlier Saturday, Trump announced that a multinational group would be sending warships to the region “to keep the Strait open and safe.”
While no countries have sprung into action yet, Trump singled out China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, expressing hope that they would “send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated.”
