Trump Says He Wants to "Take the Oil in Iran" — What Seizing Kharg Island Would Actually Mean

What Trump Said

In an interview published by the Financial Times on March 30, 2026, President Donald Trump said: "To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: 'Why are you doing that?' But they're stupid people."

Trump added: "Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't. We have a lot of options. It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while."

Asked whether the oil infrastructure on the island would be targeted, Trump said in the same interview that he had "chosen NOT to wipe out Oil infrastructure on the island" — but warned he would reconsider if Iran interfered with the Strait of Hormuz, according to BBC News.

Trump also disclosed the scale of the ongoing air campaign: "We've got about 3,000 targets left — we've bombed 13,000 targets — and another couple of thousand targets to go," adding that "a deal could be made fairly quickly," according to the Financial Times.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" on the same day, said Trump was "leaving all options on the table" and confirmed: "What could happen with Kharg Island? We'll see."

What Is Kharg Island?

Kharg Island is a small island in the Persian Gulf, roughly 25 kilometers off Iran's southwestern coast. More than 90% of Iran's crude oil exports pass through its terminal facilities, according to NBC News and multiple energy analysts. Because most of Iran's coastline is too shallow for supertankers, the country pumps nearly all of its crude production through underwater pipelines to Kharg, where it is loaded onto ocean-going tankers — mostly bound for China, according to NBC News.

The island is home to at least 8,000 residents, many of them oil workers, and its access is restricted enough that it has earned the nickname "Forbidden Island," according to NBC News. Its infrastructure includes rows of oil storage tanks, extensive pipeline networks, and vast loading piers.

Historically, Kharg was used by Iran's pre-revolutionary monarchy to exile political prisoners. It was developed into its current export terminal in the 1950s. An 18th-century fort built by the Dutch East India Company and archaeological sites dating back 2,400 years are also located on the island, according to NBC News.

During the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), Kharg was repeatedly struck by Iraqi aircraft in an attempt to cripple Iran's oil revenues — yet it continued to function through most of the conflict, demonstrating both its strategic importance and its resilience.

The U.S. military has already struck the island in the current war. U.S. Central Command confirmed on March 14 that it had struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg, including air defenses, a naval base, and mine storage facilities, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a press conference.

The Market Response

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to $116.12 per barrel in early Asian trading on March 30, according to CNBC, after Trump's remarks were published. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 3.4% to $102.96 per barrel, according to CNBC.

Brent has risen approximately 59% since the start of March, according to Reuters, putting it on track for what Reuters described as "the steepest monthly jump" in history — exceeding the previous record of 46% set in September 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, according to LSEG data cited by The Guardian.

Brent traded as high as $119.50 a barrel during March, its highest level since June 2022, according to The Guardian.

Asian stock markets fell sharply on the news: Japan's Nikkei declined 3%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 3.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed approximately 1%, according to The Guardian. European markets were mixed, with the FTSE 100 ticking up 0.2% while the Euro Stoxx 600 fell 0.1%, according to The Guardian. European natural gas prices also rose, with Dutch month-ahead futures climbing 1.6% to just over €55 per megawatt-hour, according to The Guardian.

"There's still no sign of a clear end to the conflict, and given the various headlines, investors remain fearful about a fresh escalation," analysts at Deutsche Bank said, as quoted by The Guardian.

What a Seizure Would Mean — and the Risks

Taking Kharg Island would effectively shut off Iran's primary source of export revenue. Iran earned tens of billions of dollars annually from oil exports routed through the terminal before the war disrupted shipping, according to NBC News.

According to Christian Emery, an associate professor specializing in U.S.-Iran relations at University College London, quoted by NBC News, "Trump would be gambling that the remaining Iranian leadership, faced with the loss of tens of billions in annual revenue, would capitulate." But Emery cautioned that "military success is by no means guaranteed," with a "real risk of it spiraling into a far more dangerous" situation.

Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum, a think tank based in Washington D.C., told NBC News that Kharg Island is "a lifeline for Iran's economy" and that Tehran would "likely escalate sharply" if the island was seized, intensifying strikes on U.S. forces and Gulf energy infrastructure.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Iranian forces were "waiting for American soldiers" and would "rain fire" on any U.S. troops attempting to enter Iranian territory, according to BBC News. An Iranian military official separately told local media that shipping in the Red Sea would be targeted in the event of a ground invasion, according to BBC News.

Aaron Maclean, host of the School of War podcast and a CBS national security analyst, said the U.S. thinking was likely that the island could be seized and "used as leverage" to compel Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, according to BBC News. Maclean assessed any operation would be "relatively small in size, but challenging," requiring either naval landings or an airborne assault over considerable distances, according to BBC News.

Trump himself appeared to downplay Iran's ability to defend the island in his Financial Times interview, stating: "I don't think they have any defence. We could take it very easily." Military analysts have disputed this assessment, citing Iran's ability to reach the island with missiles and drones, according to Reuters.

Sources told CBS News, as reported by BBC News, that Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations to deploy ground forces into Iran. On March 29, U.S. Central Command announced the arrival of an additional 3,500 U.S. sailors and Marines in the Middle East as part of a unit led by the warship USS Tripoli, according to BBC News.

The Venezuela Parallel Trump Is Drawing

Trump referenced Venezuela multiple times in explaining his thinking on Iran's oil. In January 2026, the U.S. captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and subsequently moved to take more direct control over the country's oil industry, according to NBC News. Trump told the Financial Times that seizing Iran's oil was analogous, comparing the two operations in terms of using military force to gain resource leverage.

Legal scholars note that the Venezuela precedent involved different legal frameworks, and that the seizure of a sovereign nation's oil facilities during wartime raises distinct questions under international law. The article does not attempt to resolve those legal questions here — they remain contested as of March 30, 2026.

The Broader Context: Week Five

Trump's remarks came as the Iran-U.S. war entered its fifth week. The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world's oil exports typically flow according to NBC News, remains effectively closed due to Iranian interdiction. Houthi rebels in Yemen entered the conflict on March 28, firing ballistic missiles at Israeli military sites, further widening the geographic scope of hostilities, according to The Guardian.

Iran also attacked a service building at a power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait on the evening of March 29, killing at least one person, according to CNBC. Kuwait's government confirmed the incident.

Trump simultaneously indicated that indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran through Pakistani intermediaries were making progress, telling the Financial Times that "a deal could be made fairly quickly." Iran has publicly denied any direct interaction with the United States, according to CNBC.

The simultaneous public statements about wanting to "take the oil" and claiming talks are progressing has been characterized by analysts as "mixed messaging" — a pattern that has defined the Trump administration's communications throughout the conflict. CNBC flagged this tension explicitly in its March 30 coverage.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was scheduled to hold emergency talks on March 30 with executives from Shell, BP, Equinor, and representatives from finance, insurance, and shipping industries to discuss what emergency measures might be needed to address the energy crisis stemming from the Hormuz blockade, according to The Guardian.