Trump says US will hit Iran 'very hard', take control of energy infrastructure

The United States will hit Iran "very hard tonight" and will soon take control of the Middle Eastern country's oil and gas infrastructure and markets, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

"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," Trump said on Truth Social.

Tehran did not immediately respond to Trump's latest remarks but Iran's foreign ministry said earlier on Thursday that the ceasefire agreed in early April had been effectively rendered meaningless by the latest US attacks.

The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and pushed up global oil prices since the US and Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

Talks on halting the conflict have stalled but three Iranian sources and Western officials said indirect US-Iranian talks were continuing, 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.

Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, but US officials did not immediately comment on the latest status of the indirect negotiations.

Reflecting the view that military action had become part of the tense negotiations, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday: "If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs, and we're very good at it."