President Donald Trump has threatened to seize Iran's Kharg Island, the central hub for the country's oil exports, as U.S. military strikes against Tehran continue.
The declaration marks a significant escalation in the conflict, moving beyond kinetic strikes to explicitly target the physical infrastructure of Iran's energy sector.
The threat comes amid ongoing hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. and Iranian forces have been clashing.
The island handles the vast majority of Iran's crude oil shipments, and any attempt to seize or disrupt operations there would represent a direct assault on the nation's primary revenue stream and a major disruption to global energy supplies.
Oil prices have already reacted sharply to the broader conflict.
Following Trump's earlier declaration that the U.S. military would attack Iran "VERY HARD" and seize its "oil infrastructure points," crude spiked in early trading.