US President Donald Trump has issued a chilling threat to Iran saying the American military will capture Iranian land "in the not so distant future".
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the US military will "be taking Kharg Island" in Iran.
He also said "the United States will be hitting Iran... VERY HARD TONIGHT".
President Trump wrote: "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.
He continued to write the US will take Kharg Island, Iran's sea port which sees 90 per cent of the country's oil exports pass through it, and "assume total control" of the Islamic Republic's oil and gas markets, making reference to Venezuela.
He wrote: "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, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America."
There has been a re-escalation of hostilities between Iran and the US, as the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said it targeted US bases in the Middle East overnight for a second consecutive day.
This followed the US striking Iran after the downing of an American helicopter in the region.
Mr Trump took to social media to issue his latest threat to the Islamic Republic
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The US described the response as "proportional" for the helicopter downing on Monday, while the IRGC called the strikes as "vicious".
The outburst of aggression has rendered the ceasefire held between the two nations as "meaningless" and "ineffective", a senior Iranian official said today.
Kharg Island is an outcrop off Iran's coast and is a strategic economic asset for Tehran as 90 per cent of the country's crude oil exports flow through it.
The US has been developing plans for capturing the strategic island, it has been said, or authorising strikes to effectively wipe out Iran's oil infrastructure.
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Kharg Island resides roughly 410 miles north west of the Strait of Hormuz
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White House officials believe taking the island would "totally bankrupt" Iran, CNN reports.
Experts argued an attempt to capture or attack the critical oil port would involve a significant amount of military power, including ground troops - something which Mr Trump has been reluctant to do so far.
The US has previously struck the island, including military installations there, but American airpower avoided attacking its energy infrastructure.
Despite warnings of further aggression, the two nations are still engaged in peace talks, attempting to strike a permanent agreement.
Pakistan, a key mediator between the US and Iran said it was "deeply concerned" by the re-escalation of hostility between the two nations.
The country's foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said both parties should "adhere to the understanding reached on the ceasefire and end hostilities to widen the space for dialogue and diplomacy."
In bids to re-establish peace, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held "important meetings with Iran's leadership" in Tehran earlier this week, the spokesman confirmed.
The conflict has already killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon and has created supply-side price shocks to the oil market.