U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House, in Washington, D.C., May 27. Reuters-Yonhap

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States would hit Iran "very hard tonight" and wanted at some point to take Iran's oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island, after strikes by both sides in the Gulf undermined a shaky ceasefire.

Iranian sources and Western officials said indirect U.S.-Iranian talks on a preliminary peace deal had intensified. But a worsening of hostilities this week has undermined prospects for a swift end to more than three months of war.

Trump threatened new strikes on Iran after the two sides traded air attacks on Thursday for the second successive day.

"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," Trump said in a social media post. "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," he said, referring to Iran's main oil hub.

Iran exports most of its oil via Kharg Island with volumes usually amounting to 2 million barrels per day, or around 2% of global supply, and flowing mainly to China.

In response to Trump's threats, the head of the national security committee in Iran's parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, told state media that the U.S. president would receive a stronger and more painful response if he made any "uncalculated" move. The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and pushed up global oil prices since the U.S. and Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Oil prices were, however, almost flat on Thursday as investors weighed Trump's comments with the actual impact of supply disruptions from the war.

A move to capture Kharg Island would not have an immediate impact on oil shipments because flows have been suspended in recent weeks following a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports - imposed after Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for oil and liquefied natural gas.

Despite the latest hostilities, three Iranian sources and Western officials said U.S.-Iranian talks had intensified, with some issues yet to be discussed in detail, including a mechanism for the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.

"This war, from a military standpoint, is a dead end. The Americans could not achieve their goals by attacking Iran. There has been progress in negotiations," said one of the Iranian sources.

Source: Korea Times News