‘One bullet and I’d hit Kharg’: Trump’s 38-year-old Iran warning resurfaces after latest strike

A resurfaced interview from 1988 has drawn fresh attention after US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island, revealing that the US president had spoken about attacking the same target nearly four decades ago.

In the interview with The Guardian, Trump, then a New York businessman, spoke about taking a tough line against Iran. Asked what he would do if he were in power, he said the United States needed to respond forcefully to Iranian actions in the Persian Gulf.




Also read: Trump shares video of US bombing Iran's crucial oil hub Kharg Island

“I’d be harsh on Iran. They’ve been beating us psychologically, making us look a bunch of fools,” Trump said. “One bullet shot at one of our men or ships and I’d do a number on Kharg Island. I’d go in and take it.”



Trump argued that Iran was pushing the United States around despite being locked in a difficult conflict with Iraq. “Iran can’t even beat Iraq, yet they push the United States around,” he said. “It’d be good for the world to take them on.”



The decades-old remarks resurfaced after the White House shared a snippet of the interview following US military strikes on Kharg Island, which hosts the main terminal for Iran’s crude exports. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the excerpt, saying the president’s views on Iran had remained unchanged for years.

“President Trump has been remarkably consistent his entire life on Iran,” she said. “Anyone who says otherwise has not been paying attention.”

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Trump recently said US forces had “obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island, located about 30 kilometres off the Iranian mainland in the Persian Gulf. The island is central to Iran’s oil trade and handles the vast majority of its crude exports, making it one of the country’s most important economic lifelines.

While the strikes reportedly targeted military facilities rather than oil terminals, Trump warned that Iran’s energy infrastructure could also be hit if Tehran continues to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil supplies.

Iran’s military has responded with sharp warnings, saying oil and energy infrastructure linked to companies cooperating with the United States could be “destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iranian facilities are attacked.