WASHINGTON — The White House threatened further escalation of its military campaign against Iran, which later attacked a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai, as the war entered a fifth week with little relief for jolted global markets.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post Monday that if Tehran doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating” electricity plants, oil facilities and “possibly” desalination infrastructure.

Trump has regularly vacillated between saying a deal with Iran is imminent and warning that he’s prepared to increase the military tempo. The threat to water facilities would constitute a war crime as defined by the Geneva Conventions.

The president has told aides that he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign, even if the strait remains mostly closed, The Wall Street Journal reported. White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Exiting the conflict without a deal to resume the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz would represent a major loss for the U.S. Washington is considering using diplomatic channels to pressure Iran to reopen the passage, or leaving it to allies in Europe and the Gulf region to negotiate, the paper reported.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. is “conducting more intense, targeted strikes with devastating combat power with each passing day” and the American operations are proceeding “according to plan,” even as she echoed the president in saying talks are on track. The administration hasn’t identified which Iranian officials it’s dealing with, directly or indirectly.

Despite the mystery surrounding peace talks, Leavitt said Iran is “increasingly eager” to negotiate and has agreed to “some of the points” the U.S. proposed. Iran has said talks aren’t progressing and signaled it can continue fighting.

The back-and-forth on negotiations occurred as Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes. The conflict is threatening to cause economic damage around the world, with the near-closing of the Hormuz waterway choking supplies of energy, fertilizer and other critical commodities. The United Arab Emirates issued multiple alerts overnight, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reported interceptions of drones and missiles.

The Kuwaiti crude carrier Al-Salmi was attacked by Iran in an anchorage area of a Dubai port, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said in a statement. There were no injuries reported among the crew, KPC added, though the assault may have resulted in an “oil spill in the surrounding waters.”

Oil pushed higher after the tanker strike, with West Texas Intermediate futures jumping almost 4% toward $107 a barrel. The U.S. oil benchmark has surged almost 60% in March, the most since May 2020.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the U.S. is “going to retake control” of Hormuz, ensuring safe navigation “through U.S. escorts or a multinational escort.” The U.S. announced such a plan in the early days of the war, though it hasn’t yet been executed.

Iran’s parliament approved legislation to impose fees in the strait, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi urged Trump to end the conflict, saying only the US president could do so. Egypt is, along with Pakistan and Turkey, attempting to mediate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Newsmax that the Iran war was “definitely beyond the halfway point” in terms of missions, though possibly not in terms of time.

The U.S. military said over the weekend that about 3,500 sailors and Marines have arrived in the Middle East on an amphibious assault ship. The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group is also carrying fighter aircraft.

The Israel Defense Forces said it’s carrying out airstrikes on Iran a day after attacks resulted in power outages in Tehran and nearby areas. Iran said it’s striking Israel, which reported an attack on the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa, although not to production facilities.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that an agreement to end fighting could come soon, claiming that Iran agreed to “most of” the 15 demands the U.S. has issued, without offering specifics.

Iran suggested that isn’t the case, having publicly rejected the proposal last week.

“The demands conveyed to us have been excessive and illogical,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a news conference, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Iran has issued its own conditions, including war reparations, and called for an end to fighting on all fronts.

Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen entered the war over the weekend, launching missiles and drones at Israel.

More than 4,750 people have been killed so far, roughly three-quarters of them in Iran. More than 1,100 have died in Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced. Dozens have been killed in Israel and Arab Gulf states.

Three United Nations peacekeeper have been killed in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.

Iran’s weekend strikes on Middle Eastern aluminum plants are threatening to send a fragile market into crisis, raising the prospect of record prices for the metal.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said he wants to “take the oil in Iran,” which would involve occupying the country’s main export hub of Kharg Island — also the location of an Iranian naval base.

“Our men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to Tasnim.

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(With assistance from John Bowker, Jordan Fabian, Devika Krishna Kumar, Magdalena Del Valle, Derek Wallbank, Romy Varghese, John Harney, Jon Herskovitz and Laura Davison.)

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