Trump says US may hit Iran’s Kharg Island again ‘just for fun’

Al Jazeera - US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island and urged allies to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway critical for global energy supplies, as Tehran promised to ⁠intensify its response.

Trump told the NBC News broadcaster on Saturday the US strikes “totally demolished” much of the oil export hub and warned of more attacks on the island.

“We may hit it a few more times just for fun,” said the US leader.

The remarks – if carried out – would mark an escalation for Trump who previously said the United States is targeting only military sites on Kharg.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would respond to any attack on its energy facilities. He also took exception to the US president’s comments.

“This is an illegal war with no victory. There are people being killed only because President Trump wants to have ‘fun’. This is what he has said,” Araghchi told CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday show.

The US attacked Kharg Island from two locations in the United Arab Emirates: Ras Al-Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai”, Araghchi earlier told the MS NOW news channel, calling it “dangerous” and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.

US Central Command, the US military’s combat command responsible for operations in the Middle East, declined to comment on Araghchi’s claim. A diplomatic adviser to UAE President Anwar Gargash said on social media it has the right to defend itself but “still prioritises reason and logic, and continues exercising restraint”.