US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz attends a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following the launch of US and Israeli strikes against Iran, at UN headquarters in New York, February 28, 2026.
Heather Khalifa | Reuters
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that the president Donald Trump is considering strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil exports.
“President Trump will not take any options off the table,” Waltz said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Kharg Island has been placed in the global spotlight as it is considered one of Iran’s most sensitive economic targets. The terminal accounts for around 90% of the country’s crude exports and has a loading capacity of around 7 million barrels per day.
Trump said Friday he had ordered U.S. Central Command to carry out bombardment on military targets on Kharg Island for the first time but left the oil infrastructure intact. Trump had threatened further strikes on Iran’s oil export hub, while repeatedly urging allies to deploy warships to help the United States secure the Strait of Hormuz.
“He has deliberately only hit military infrastructure, so far,” Waltz told CNN. “And I certainly think he would maintain that option if he wanted to remove their energy infrastructure.”
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that his country was “ready to form a committee with regional countries to investigate the targets that were attacked” on Kharg Island.
“Our attacks only target US bases and interests in the region,” he wrote.
In a telegram job On Sunday, Araghchi said: “So far, we have not targeted any civilian or residential areas in the regional countries,” and added: “Occupying Kharg Island would be a bigger mistake than attacking it.”
IRGC vows to end ‘child killer’ NetanyahuTehran vowed to kill Israeli prime minister on Sunday Benjamin Netanyahu as the US-Israeli war against Iran continues to threaten Gulf oil supplies.
“The IRGC vows to pursue and kill Netanyahu, the ‘child killer,’ if he is still alive,” Iranian news agency IRNA said. said in a post onreferring to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Rumors that the Israeli leader was dead circulated over the weekend, prompting his office to issue a statement calling the reports “false.”
Israel in return targeted key members of Iran’s leadership over the weekend.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had “eliminated” two senior Iranian intelligence officials from the “Khatam al-Anbiya” emergency command.
On Saturday evening, the Israeli military said in a message on X that it had struck the main research center of the Iranian Space Agency and a factory producing air defense systems.
Iran continued to retaliate against targets in the region. Israeli emergency services reported a “recent barrage of missiles” fired at central Israel, but said there were no known injuries.
Israeli security forces check damage to cars after a rocket strike in Holon, Tel Aviv district, March 15, 2026. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images) /
Jack Guez | Afp | Getty Images
Trump’s calls for help were met with cautionA number of countries reacted cautiously after Trump repeatedly called on other countries to send warships to the Gulf to help the United States secure the Strait of Hormuz.
In a society of truth job On Saturday, the president wrote: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others, affected by this artificial constraint, will send ships to the region. » Trump asked later in the day in a separate statement job that countries that depend on the strait for their energy supplies participate in American and Israeli military operations in the region.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that it “takes note” of the president’s comments and will “closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation. The Korea International Trade Association said it gets about 70% of its crude oil and 20% of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East.
Britain responded that it was “intensively” studying ways to help secure the strait. Asked if Britain was considering sending minesweepers or mine-hunting drones to the strategic waterway to help shipping return to normal, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News: “We are talking to our allies.”
Miliband told the BBC that “all options that could contribute to the reopening of the Strait are being explored.” He added: “We don’t want a nuclear Iran, but ending this conflict is the best and safest way to reopen the strait.”
In Japan, Trump is speculated to ask ally America to send warships when he meets Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday at the White House.
Read more news about the US-Iran warThe rise in oil prices could continue The war has effectively choked off energy supplies flowing through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of the world’s oil and gas generally crosses the maritime corridor.
Friday, Brent Crude Oil Futures Oil prices closed above $100 a barrel for the second day in a row, and the global oil benchmark has surged more than 40% since the start of the Iran war.
Oil price could extend gains at Monday’s open as the war in Iran enters its third week, but the Trump administration has continued to downplay the price surge as a short-term problem.
“I think this conflict will certainly end in the next few weeks – it could be sooner than that,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “But the conflict will end in the coming weeks, and then we will see a rebound in supplies and a drop in prices.”
Wright sowed confusion and shook markets Tuesday after wrongly claim in a message on that the US Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker across the strait.
Brent and US crude futures have already risen sharply, shaking global markets. Both contracts have surged more than 40% so far this month to their highest levels since 2022 after U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a virtual halt.
Oil loading operations at the port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, resumed on Sunday, according to media reports, after being interrupted a day earlier due to a fire caused by falling debris from an intercepted drone.
A spokesperson for Abu Dhabi’s state oil giant ADNOC, which operates in Fujairah, directed CNBC to the Fujairah media office, which did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
Separately, the International Energy Agency said Sunday that emergency oil stocks “will soon begin flowing into global markets.”
The IEA also updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to almost 412 million. Member countries in Asia plan to release their stocks “immediately”, it says, and reserves in Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March”.
Major sporting events canceledThe impact of the war has not only severely disrupted air travel, but it is now also affecting major sporting events in the Gulf region due to security concerns.
Formula 1 announced on Saturday the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix scheduled for April.
“Although alternatives have been considered, no substitutions will be made in April,” Formula 1 said in a statement. job on X.
And the “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina, scheduled for Qatar on March 27, was canceled, UEFA said in a press release. statement on Sunday.
“It is a source of great disappointment for UEFA and the organizers that circumstances and timing have prevented the teams from competing for this prestigious prize in Qatar,” UEFA said in a statement.
The competition between Spain and Argentina was scheduled to take place at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, where football fans would have had the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi take on Lamine Yamal.
— Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
