(SeaPRwire) –   President Donald Trump has warned of escalating the war by “blowing up and fully destroying” Iran’s power plants, oil wells, and its major oil terminal, Kharg Island.

“Significant progress” has been made in negotiations to end the war, Trump stated Monday morning, yet he cautioned that serious action would follow if a “deal isn’t reached soon” and if the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway “isn’t immediately open for shipping.”

Trump said any U.S. military action would be “in response to the many soldiers and others Iran has murdered over the old regime’s 47-year reign of terror.”

The U.S. president’s threat comes as oil remains a geopolitical bargaining tool in the Iran war, now in its 31st day.

Since the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes killed former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28, Iran has retaliated by targeting oil refineries and other key production facilities across the Gulf region. Most crucial of all, however, has been Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow passage between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman through which roughly a fifth of global oil flows.

Trump had previously warned Iran to reopen the Strait, but the route remains largely unstable.

Oil and gas prices have spiked due to the halt in this key transit route, with global impacts. Brent crude oil hit $115 per barrel Monday morning; before the Iran war, it was around $72 per barrel. U.S. gas stations have been affected, with the national average for gasoline now at $3.99 per gallon.

Trump’s Monday morning threat to “obliterate” Kharg Island if a deal isn’t reached follows multiple past references to taking control of the critical oil terminal.

Taking over the island would require ground forces and likely intensify the war dramatically, as Iran has previously warned that any invasion of its islands would “shatter all restraint” and lead to bloodshed.

Below is a breakdown of Trump’s past comments on Kharg Island and why the oil hub holds such strategic value:

Trump says the U.S. could “take” Kharg Island

As tensions with Iran rose, Trump said the U.S. might “take” the island.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have plenty of options,” Trump told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday.

Seizing the island would involve ground troops and require the U.S. military “to stay there for some time,” Trump added.

The U.S. president said his “preference would be to take the oil,” citing U.S. control over oil sales in Venezuela.

“To be honest, my favorite thing is to take Iran’s oil, but some foolish people back in the U.S. ask: ‘Why are you doing that?’ They’re stupid people,” he claimed.

Trump targets “Iran’s crown jewel” in strikes and threatens further action

On March 13, Trump announced the U.S. had “carried out one of the most powerful bombing raids in Middle Eastern history” and had “totally destroyed every military target on Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”

He confirmed the island’s oil infrastructure remained intact but warned he might reverse his decision “not to wipe [it] out” if certain conditions weren’t met.

In an interview the next day, Trump said “we may hit” Kharg Island “a few more times, just for fun.”

Trump threatens to destroy oil pipes “with one simple word”

“We destroyed everything on the island except the oil area… we didn’t want to, but we will,” Trump said at a March 16 press conference, again threatening more military action.

Trump said avoiding strikes on oil infrastructure was for the “sake of someday rebuilding that country” and noted he thought “we did the right thing.”

But he made clear his stance could shift. “One simple order and the pipes will be gone too—but it would take years to rebuild,” he warned.

Trump said he would “do a number on Kharg Island” in a decades-old interview

Trump showed interest in Kharg Island long before becoming president.

During a 1988 interview with the Guardian, the then-prominent businessman hinted at political ambitions, saying: “If I want to be President, I’ll be President.”

When asked how he’d handle Iran as Commander-in-Chief, Trump said: “I’d be tough on Iran. They’ve been outsmarting us psychologically, making us look like fools.”

He added: “If one bullet is fired at any of our people or ships, I’d hit Kharg Island hard. I’d go in and take it. Iran can’t even beat Iraq, yet they push the U.S. around. The world would benefit from standing up to them.”

Through much of the 1980s, Iran and Iraq were at war and targeted each other’s oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. While several ships were sunk or destroyed during the so-called Tanker War, experts told TIME the impact on the global economy and oil supply was nowhere near as severe as the current conflict.

When asked about his 1988 comments on March 13, Trump told Fox News Radio that seizing Kharg Island was “not a top priority” but emphasized he could change his mind.

“Suppose I was going to do it, or not. What would I tell you?” he said.

Why is Kharg Island so strategically important?

Situated roughly 15 miles off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf, Kharg Island acts as the primary terminal for Iran’s oil exports.

One analyst said the island’s net oil export revenue was about $53 billion in 2025, accounting for 11% of Iran’s annual GDP. TIME has not independently verified these numbers.

The island’s deepwater ports let oil tankers dock to load and export Iranian oil. Deepwater ports are rare along Iran’s coastline, making Kharg Island extremely valuable.

If the U.S. were to strike and destroy the island’s energy infrastructure, it would likely “prompt massive Iranian retaliation against the energy infrastructure of Persian Gulf Arab states—beyond what we’ve seen so far,” Amir Handjani, a resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, told TIME.