--- description: “The blood of American soldiers is Trump's personal responsibility," said the Iranian official. title: Iran Issues Chilling Warning to U.S.: 'Blood of Invaders' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f24a1e34b85d422/69b2b7aba9a7be1edf91622b/GettyImages-2263555437.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iran](/tag/iran/) ## Iran Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iran Issues Chilling Warning to U.S., Says Persian Gulf Will 'Run With the Blood of Invaders'  by [Tiago Ventura](/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2026 1:04 PM CUT  by [Tiago Ventura](/author/tiago-ventura/)  ## Tiago Ventura Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2026 1:04 PM CUT Iran warned President Donald Trump that any invasion of its islands will “shatter all restraint” and result in bloodshed. “We will abandon all restraint and make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders,” [said](https://x.com/mb%5Fghalibaf/status/2032026874814087175 "undefined") Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. “The blood of American soldiers is Trump's personal responsibility.” According to Ghalibaf, it would be a case of “homeland or death.” It’s not immediately clear what prompted the Iranian official’s statement Thursday morning, but the warning comes as Trump has yet to rule out the possibility of putting American troops on the ground in Iran. “He does not rule options out as Commander-In-Chief,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. There have also been [reports](https://www.axios.com/2026/03/08/iran-ground-troops-special-forces-nuclear "undefined") that U.S. officials may have discussed the possibility of seizing Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, which serves as Iran’s main oil terminal. TIME has been unable to independently verify said reports. “Operation Epic Fury will continue until the President Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, determines that this operation’s goals, including for Iran to no longer pose a military threat, have been fully realized," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told TIME on Thursday, adding that the Iranian regime is so far "getting absolutely crushed." Iran’s latest threat comes as several oil tankers have been targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the vital global trade passage for oil and liquified natural gas to a virtual standstill and prompting oil prices to surge. The Strait is being used as a geopolitical bargaining chip, with both Iran and the U.S. extending warnings over its usage. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that Tehran would continue [using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage ](https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-new-supreme-leader-vows-revenge-blocks-strait-of-hormuz/ "undefined")against the U.S., despite [Trump's warnings ](https://time.com/article/2026/03/10/trump-threatens-iran-death-fire-fury-oil-blockage-strait-of-hormuz/ "undefined")that Iran will be hit "twenty times harder" than it already has been if it blocks the flow of oil. Meanwhile, Democratic Senators expressed concern about the potential next steps in the Iran war after attending closed-door briefings earlier this week. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut [said](https://time.com/article/2026/03/11/-it-is-so-much-worse-than-you-thought-classified-iran-briefings-leave-democrats-furious/ "undefined") he left his briefing “as dissatisfied and angry, frankly, as I have from any past briefing in my 15 years in the Senate.” His biggest concerns were related to threats the widening war could pose to American lives and the potential of U.S. boots on the ground in Iran. The FBI issued a warning to police departments in California, prior to the war beginning, that Iran might launch drone attacks on the state. No specific or credible threats have been identified. California Gov. Gavin Newsom commented on the reports Wednesday, [saying](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2377&v=pnYvHei70i8&feature=youtu.be "undefined") “drone issues have been always top of mind and we’ve assembled some work groups specifically around those concerns.”  Satellite view of Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran, in 2024. Gallo Images/Copernicus Sentinel Data—Getty Images As the U.S. considers its next steps in the war, Iran's latest threats have brought into focus certain islands that hold a geographical advantage. ### **Why is Kharg Island strategically significant?** Kharg Island, a small coral island in the northern Persian Gulf, serves as Iran’s principal crude oil export terminal. U.S. oil company Amoco originally [established](https://jusmundi.com/en/document/decision/en-amoco-international-finance-corporation-v-the-government-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-national-iranian-oil-company-national-petrochemical-company-and-kharg-chemical-company-limited-partial-award-award-no-310-56-3-tuesday-14th-july-1987 "undefined") the terminal, which was seized by Iran amid the 1979 Islamic Revolution. At times, [up to 90%](https://www.kpler.com/blog/strait-of-hormuz-watch-amid-iran-conflict-risk-tracking-crude-flows-interference-and-diversions-in-kpler "undefined") of Iran’s oil exports have passed through Kharg via pipelines linking offshore Gulf fields and major mainland oil reserves. In the weeks preceding the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran increased production at Kharg, according to data firm Kepler. Any effort to seize or disable the island would have a significant impact. ### **Three other Iran-held islands drawing attention** Three strategically located islands—Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb—positioned at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz are at the center of a decades-long [dispute](https://www.uae-embassy.org/foreign-policy/occupied-uae-islands "undefined") between Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Iran has been in control of the islands since it seized them from the UAE before its formation in 1971\. But the UAE still claims sovereignty. In a December 2025 [statement](https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjbzhd/202512/t20251216%5F11773565.html "undefined"), China backed UAE’s efforts to resolve the issue over the islands through bilateral negotiations, citing an accordance with the U.N. Charter and international law. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei reportedly condemned the cooperation between the two nations and said any “territorial claim” against the islands are “baseless,” [according](https://iranpress.com/content/313586/iran-rejects-pgcc-leaders-baseless-claims-over-its-three-persian-gulf-islands "undefined") to state media. Now, in the midst of the war, there is a renewed focus on the islands as they hold a geopolitical advantage, with the location providing military forces the opportunity to monitor, and potentially threaten, ships passing through the narrow passage. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/"},"headline":"Iran Issues Chilling Warning to U.S., Says Persian Gulf Will 'Run With the Blood of Invaders'","datePublished":"2026-03-12T13:04:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-19T07:44:52.892Z","description":"“The blood of American soldiers is Trump's personal responsibility,\" said the Iranian official.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/","keywords":["Iran","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f24a1e34b85d422/69b2b7aba9a7be1edf91622b/GettyImages-2263555437.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tiago Ventura","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tiago-ventura/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f24a1e34b85d422/69b2b7aba9a7be1edf91622b/GettyImages-2263555437.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2263555437.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iran/","name":"Iran"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/","name":"Iran Issues Chilling Warning to U.S., Says Persian Gulf Will 'Run With the Blood of Invaders'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How the Iran war is driving up gas prices","description":"Since the eruption of the Iran war, around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply is now at risk.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/eaVtz4gW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-03-09T20:46:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eaVtz4gW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/","duration":"PT1M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/12/iran-threatens-united-states-persian-gulf-blood-of-invaders/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```