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| 2026-03-31 03:58:41
(2nd LD) Trump-Iran war
(2nd LD) Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iran's Kharg Island, power plants if deal is not reached 'shortly'
(ATTN: ADDS photo, more info in paras 9-19)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Monday to "completely obliterate" Iran's Kharg Island, a key oil hub, its power plants and oil wells if a peace deal with the United States is not "shortly" reached.
Trump made the remarks in a social media post amid growing fears of a prolonged war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, and the conflict's impact on oil prices and inflation -- key issues that could affect voter sentiment ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.
"The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social, claiming that "great progress has been made in the negotiations."
"But, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island, which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'"
He said targets would possibly include all desalinization plants in Iran.
He went on to say that the strikes, if pressed ahead, will be "in retribution for" many U.S. soldiers and others that he accused Iran of having killed over the "old regime's 47-year reign of terror."
On Thursday, Trump extended his pause on U.S. military strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure by 10 days to 8 p.m. on April 6 (Washington time) to secure more time for negotiations.
Trump's latest threat to strike Iran's energy infrastructure came amid reports that the U.S. has sent thousands of additional troops to the Middle East to provide Trump with more wartime options as his administration has ratcheted up pressure on Tehran to accept its 15-point proposal to end the war.
During a press briefing later in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that Iran would face "grave" consequences if it rejects a "golden" opportunity to reach a deal with the U.S.
"President Trump issued a 10-day pause to postpone planned strikes on Iranian power plant plants and energy infrastructure. This remains a truly once-in-a-generation opportunity for the regime to make a good deal with the U.S., permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and stop acting as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," she said.
"If the Iranians reject this golden opportunity, the greatest military in the history of the world continues to stand by to provide President Trump with every option available to ensure this regime continues to pay a grave price."
Leavitt reiterated that negotiations with Iran are "going well," while the U.S. military is conducting a campaign of "intense, targeted" strikes against Iran.
"It's no surprise that we are seeing the remaining elements of the regime become increasingly eager to end the destruction and come to the negotiating table while they still can, despite all of the public posturing you hear from the regime and false reporting," she said.
Asked about the Trump administration's stated goal to achieve its objectives in the war in four to six weeks, Leavitt said that the time frame is still valid.
"The military has been enormously successful. I think we should all be very proud of our armed forces for what they have done over the past 30 days," she said. "The mission will continue until the objectives are achieved and that four-to-six week timeline does remain."
She reiterated that the U.S. objectives in the war are destroying Iran's ballistic missiles, defense industrial base and its Navy, and preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while noting the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route, is "something the administration is working towards."
On the deployment of new troops to the Middle East, Leavitt highlighted the Pentagon's job to provide "maximum optionality" to the president.
"(But it) does not mean (the president) has made a decision (on potential ground operations) nor would he ever notify the media of such a decision as not to tip off our enemy," she said.
She stressed that diplomacy is the president's "number one" option.
In an ABC interview released Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Trump "always prefers" diplomacy, despite the arrival of additional American troops in the Middle East.
"We always prefer to settle things through negotiation and diplomacy," the secretary said, according to a transcript released by the State Department.
"But we also have to be prepared for the fact that that effort might fail, that we are dealing with a 47-year-old regime that still has a lot of people involved in it who aren't necessarily big fans of diplomacy or peace," he added.
He said the "clerical regime" in the Islamic Republic is the "problem."
"If there are new people now in charge who have a more reasonable vision of the future, that would be good news for us, for them, for the entire world," he said. "But we also have to be prepared for the possibility, maybe even the probability, that that is not the case."
He also criticized leaders of the theocratic regime as "religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon."
"Because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future," he said.
(END)
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