Trump says US attacked Kharg Island and threatens takeover

Published July 8, 2026 10:20am ET | Updated July 15, 2026 3:37pm ET



President Donald Trump announced that the United States attacked Iran‘s Kharg Island overnight in retaliation against Tehran‘s attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. He also threatened that the U.S. could capture Kharg Island after claiming the 60-day ceasefire was over.

“We attacked Kharg Island last night, knocked out a piece,” Trump said Wednesday during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the annual NATO summit. “I said, ‘Don’t touch the oil, because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island.’

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