US President Donald Trump is considering seizing Iran’s Kharg Island oil depot should tankers remain unable to advance from the Persian Gulf, Axios reported on Monday, citing four sources familiar with the matter.
The island is one of Iran’s main oil export terminals, and any attempt to seize the depot would, for the first time in the ongoing US Operation Epic Fury, require American troops to enter Iranian territory.
So far, US military action against Iran has been limited to strikes launched from the air and from positions outside Iranian territory. Among them were the Friday strikes carried out by US Central Command on Kharg Island.
“The United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post at the time.
Trump added in his announcement that the strikes avoided the island’s oil installations.
Trump reportedly planning coalition to escort ships through Strait of Hormuz
The officials also told Axios that the American president is working to build a coalition of countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and is looking to officially announce it this week, Axios reported on Monday, citing four sources familiar with the matter.
The straight runs along the Iranian coast and is a critical avenue for global shipping.
The Axios report mirrors another Wall Street Journal report, which, citing US officials, also said that the Trump administration intends to announce as soon as this week that multiple countries have agreed to join the coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The American outlet noted that the White House declined to comment on the announcement, while countries have so far avoided committing to join efforts to escort ships through the Strait.
Japan and Australia said on Monday they were not planning to send navy vessels to the region for the purpose of escorting ships through the strait.
A German government spokesperson also reiterated on Monday that Germany would not take military action to keep the Strait of Hormuz.
"As long as this war continues, there will be no participation, not even in any effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means," the spokesperson said.
Nevertheless, Trump has announced on Truth Social that the US, along with several other countries affected by “Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait,” would be sending warships to keep the Strait “open and safe.”
Further, in a Sunday interview with the Financial Times, the president threatened NATO, warning that it would have a “very bad” future if US allies failed to assist in opening the Strait of Hormuz.
On Saturday, Trump said the US will open the Strait of Hormuz "one way or another" and would "be bombing the hell out of shoreline."
Reuters contributed to this report.