Donald Trump warns US may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island ‘just for fun’

In the past few days, American warplanes and missiles had exclusively targeted military sites on the island.

US Central Command announced it had conducted precision strikes on more than 90 targets while claiming to have preserved energy infrastructure.

However, Mr Trump’s remarks suggest this tactic could change as Iran attempts to throttle the global oil market by blocking trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has insisted that the vital shipping channel will remain closed, according to a statement purportedly from new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, contradicting reports he may be in a coma.

Strikes against infrastructure by US and Israeli forces have increased as the conflict has continued, prompting a warning from the regime.

Last week, the skyline of Tehran was bathed in fire after Israel destroyed an oil depot in the capital city.

IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that the site was providing for the “entire Iranian war machine”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Tehran would respond to any assault on its energy infrastructure.

On Saturday, the Islamic Republic claimed that 15 workers had been killed when a factory in the city of Isfahan was struck by a missile.

Following the incident, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had launched missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets and three American military installations across the region.

The strikes were described as an initial wave of retaliation for Iranian workers killed in industrial zones.

Operations at some oil-loading facilities in the UAE's Fujairah emirate, a major international ship-refuelling hub, were halted on Saturday following a drone attack.

Emirati media confirmed that a drone was intercepted, though civil defence teams were scrambled to battle a fire caused by falling debris late into the evening.

Fujairah, situated outside the Strait of Hormuz, handles roughly one million barrels of the UAE's Murban crude daily, equivalent to approximately one per cent of worldwide demand.

President Trump has urged allied nations to dispatch naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil shipments transit.

"The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!" the president wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

He pledged that Washington would coordinate with partner nations to ensure operations proceed "quickly, smoothly, and well".

In a separate post, the US leader expressed hope that Britain, France, China, Japan, and South Korea would contribute warships to the effort.

Diplomatic channels to arrange passage through the Strait appear as equally blocked as the route itself.

Three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the Trump administration had already rejected mediation efforts by Middle Eastern allies seeking to initiate peace talks.

The UAE, which has denied that strikes on Kharg Island originated from its territory, stated it "made sincere efforts until the very last moment to mediate between Washington and Tehran to avoid this war".

President Trump has acknowledged that Tehran appeared willing to negotiate an end to hostilities but dismissed the overtures, adding: "The terms aren't good enough yet."

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