US could ‘take out’ Iran’s Kharg Island any time – White House

The United States could “take out” Iran’s Kharg island whenever it wanted, the White House said Friday, after a report that President Donald Trump’s administration was considering plans to occupy or blockade the oil hub.

Axios reported that Trump was mulling an operation against Kharg to pressure the Islamic republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping lane that Tehran has largely blocked.

The United States is at the same time deploying additional Marines to the Middle East, US media reported, possibly signaling a coming ground operation three weeks into the US-Israeli campaign.

“The United States Military can take out Kharg Island at any time if the President gives the order,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly wrote in a statement to AFP when asked about the Axios report.

“Thanks to a detailed planning process, the entire administration is and was prepared for any potential action taken by the terrorist Iranian regime,” added Kelly.

“President Trump knew full well that Iran would try to stop the freedom of navigation and free flow of energy, and he has already taken action to destroy over 40 minelaying vessels.”

An effective Iranian blockade has paralyzed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, contributing to the spike in global oil prices since the start of the war on February 28.

Trump said the United States had “totally obliterated” all military targets on Kharg in strikes on Friday, threatening to hit the island’s infrastructure if Iran keeps blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

On Thursday the US leader called Kharg, which handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports, the “little oil island that sits there, so totally unprotected” and said US strikes had “taken out everything but the pipes.”

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