Trump threatens to invade Kharg Island after

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to invade Iran’s Kharg Island on Thursday, a day after stating his want for “peace for the world” forward of his eightieth birthday on Sunday, June 14.

Trump’s threats come after he licensed of strikes on Iran as fragile ceasefire negotiations falter and Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah continue to exchange fire in the broader Middle East battle, which the U.S. and Israel initiated against Iran in late February. In a Thursday morning post on Truth Social, Trump indicated that U.S. navy forces plan to resume strikes on Iran and take control of the island, home to important oil infrastructure, after Iran declared a closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday in response to U.S. assaults.

In response to a reporter’s query about what he needs for his birthday, Trump said Wednesday, “Well, I’ll go a step bigger… peace for the world, OK? Peace for the world.” The reporter adopted up, “Middle East?”, to which Trump replied, “Yes. Peace for the whole world.”​

Trump posted Thursday morning on Truth Social, “The United States can be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other varieties of Defense, together with most of its offensive functionality, are GONE! ), VERY HARD TONIGHT.”

The president further threatened to replicate U.S. actions in Venezuela from earlier this year, when American forces captured and detained the oil-rich country’s president and his wife on alleged drug trafficking charges and assumed control of its oil revenues.

“At some level in the not too distant future, we can be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure factors, and assume complete control of their Oil and Gas Markets, very like we’ve with Venezuela, which is figuring out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America. Thank you for your consideration to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”.

The preceding day, Trump had cautioned that Iran would “pay the price” for rejecting a peace agreement.

Iran’s foreign ministry asserted that U.S. strikes have placed severe strain on the already fragile two-month ceasefire negotiation process, largely due to continuing hostilities between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“The unlawful and felony assaults perpetrated by the United States in latest hours not only represent a flagrant violation … but also render the ceasefire virtually meaningless,” Iran’s foreign ministry declared, further stating that the “duty for the extraordinarily severe penalties of this felony act lies with the leaders of the United States.”

In retaliation for the U.S. strikes, Iran launched retaliatory attacks targeting Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Despite the renewed hostilities, reports suggest that a Qatari negotiating delegation proceeded with a scheduled meeting in Tehran on Thursday morning, while Pakistan’s foreign ministry reaffirmed its commitment to facilitating a “negotiated settlement.”

Qatari authorities denounced the U.S. strikes on Iran, asserting they constituted a breach of international law, while a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson cautioned that further military action could jeopardize ongoing mediation efforts.

“It is difficult to be an optimist in the new exchange of hostilities. We have not misplaced hope, we stay engaged,” said Pakistani international ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi.