Donald Trump has said that he could ‘take the oil in Iran’ and boasted that he can invade Kharg Island ‘easily’.
It comes as the number of US troops in the Middle East swelled to 50,000, roughly 10,000 more than usual.
Tehran has promised to set American soldiers on fire should the US President order a ground invasion of the country, after the Pentagon drew up plans for potential raids on Kharg Island – the Islamic Republic’s main oil export hub – and attacks on coastal sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said his ‘preference would be to take the oil’, comparing the potential operation to Venezuela where Washington intends to control the oil industry ‘indefinitely’ following its seizure of strongman leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
His comments came as the US-Israeli war on Iran stretched into its fifth week, deepening the crisis in the Middle East with the price of oil soaring more than 50 per cent in a month.
On Monday morning, Brent crude rose above $116 a barrel in Asia, near its highest level since the conflict began on February 28.
‘To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: “Why are you doing that?” But they’re stupid people,’ Trump said.
Such a move would involve raiding Kharg Island, the ‘crown jewel’ of the regime where 90 per cent of its oil is loaded on to tankers.
The arrival of 2,500 Marines and another 2,500 sailors is keeping the number of US soldiers in the Mideast region at over 50,000, while last week the Pentagon also ordered about 2,000 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the region in order to give Trump additional military options.
The US President has previously promised he was ‘not putting troops anywhere’ amid apparent divisions in his Maga base over foreign military engagements and the need for congressional approval.
Moreover, an attack on the five-mile-long Kharg Island – located 15 miles from the Iranian coast in the Strait of Hormuz – would be risky, raising the chances of more US casualties and prolonging the cost and duration of the conflict.
‘Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,’ Trump told the FT, adding: ‘It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while.’
When about the state of Iranian defence on the territory, he said: ‘I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily.’
But reports indicate Tehran has been laying traps on the island, such as anti-personnel and anti-armour mines, including on the shoreline where US troops could possibly stage an amphibious landing if Trump gives the order.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Islamic Republic’s parliament who is believed to be a key figure in talks, said: ‘The enemy openly sends a message of negotiation and dialogue and secretly plans a ground attack, unaware that our men are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever.
‘Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased. We are aware of the weaknesses of the enemy, and we can clearly see the effects of terror in the enemy’s army.’
The war has escalated in recent days, with a strike on an air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday wounding 12 American soldiers and damaging a $270mn US E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft.
The Yemen-based Houthi militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on Israel on Saturday, marking the Iran-backed group’s entry into the deepening crisis.
