Donald Trump has vowed to take over Iran's Kharg Island.
14:05, Thu, Jun 11, 2026 Updated: 18:27, Thu, Jun 11, 2026
Scott Bessent has warned Iran will pay if it damages US allies in the Gulf with military strikes (Image: Getty)
The US has issued a warning to Iran, after the regime said all companies owned by Elon Musk in West Asia will be considered military targets. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took to X on Thursday, as Donald Trump announced more strikes will target Iran today.
The US official wrote: "The Iranian regime will lose the zero-sum game it is playing. Any damage it inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian Accounts. Any tolls paid to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will be offset by funds extracted from their accounts. Every attack Iran launches will only deepen the economic and financial consequences it faces."
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Mr Bessent didn't name Elon Musk, who owns X, nor the threat shared today on Iranian news agency Fars, which suggests Tehran is now considering all the economic holdings of the billionaire scattered in West Asia, including Gulf nations and Israel, legitimate targets.
A message from Fars shared today on messaging platform Telegram read: "All interests related to economic holdings managed by Elon Musk in West Asia, including Arab countries and Israel, are under review to be included in Iran's new target bank."
The message also suggests Starlink is among the companies being threatened, as it said: "The Starlink ground station located in the occupied territories, Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, and Oman [...] are among the new targets in Iran's bank."
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Trump announced new US strikes on Iran will take place tonight, as he also suggested the US may take over Kharg Island, key to Iran's oil infrastructure.
Kharg Island is key to Iranian oil exports (Image: Getty)
He wrote on Truth Social: "The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT. At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America."
In an interview with Fox News, the US leader appeared to row back his threats over Kharg Island, as he said it would be his "preference" to take the island, but said: "I don't know that America has the stomach, I think they'd like to see us come home."
The five-mile-long island lies 16 miles from Iran's coast and roughly 300 miles north of the Strait of Hormuz.
Often dubbed the crown jewel of Iran's oil infrastructure, it accounts for more than 90% of Iranian oil exports.
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