Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to Iran, threatening to devastate its energy plants, oil facilities and Kharg Island if a deal to end the conflict isn’t reached and the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened to all vessels.

He wrote on Truth Social: “The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran. Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.” This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year “Reign of Terror.” Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

Kharg Island, a small but strategically crucial oil terminal off Iran’s western coast, has drawn the attention of the Pentagon as a potential site for limited ground operations.

Washington has nonetheless stressed that any action would stop well short of a full‑scale invasion, reflecting an effort to contain the conflict while targeting key infrastructure.

However, Tehran continues to deny that any direct negotiations are underway, having earlier dismissed US

proposals to end the conflict as “unrealistic, illogical and excessive.” Thousands of American troops have since been deployed to the region after President Trump threatened an operation targeting Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, the hub through which roughly 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports pass.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had received messages from intermediaries conveying Washington’s interest in talks, but argued that the terms being suggested demanded far too much.

According to the report of his remarks by Iranian outlets, Esmail Baghaei says that Tehran has had “no direct negotiations with the US” and also that what has been discussed so far has been “messages through intermediaries about the US’s intention to negotiate”.

He said that Pakistan’s meetings are within a framework “they themselves have established”, and Iran has “not participated”.

Baghaei has also accused the US of “constantly” shifting its position. He said: “I do not know how many in the United States take the claim of American diplomacy seriously.”