President Donald Trump announced on social media that U.S. forces struck “many long sought after targets” in Iran on Sunday, calling it a “big day” and praising the military’s effectiveness.
“Big day in Iran. Many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed by our GREAT MILITARY, the finest and most lethal in the World,” he wrote.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said the U.S. has “about 3,000 targets left — we’ve bombed 13,000 targets,” and suggested he is weighing a possible ground operation in Iran. He identified Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the northern Persian Gulf, as a potential objective, saying, “We could very easily take the island … Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” and noting such an operation “would mean we had to be there for a while.”
Trump also told the FT, “To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the U.S. say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” a comment that underscored his openness to seizing energy infrastructure as part of broader military plans.
U.S. officials are reportedly considering a ground mission to secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has seen incidents of Iranian harassment and the imposition of transit tolls on commercial shipping since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump said Iran had permitted 10 oil tankers to transit the Strait and that another 20 would follow. He told the FT he believed Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf “authorized the ships” to pass safely.
Trump also speculated about the status of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who reportedly succeeded Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the elder Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28. “The son is either dead or in extremely bad shape,” Trump said. “We’ve not heard from him at all. He’s gone.” Tehran has pushed back on reports of severe injury or death, insisting Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and safe.
Reporting by ABC News’ Meg Mistry and Emily Chang.