The White House said Friday that the United States could “remove” Iran’s Kharg Island at any time if President Donald Trump orders, following reports that the administration is considering plans to capture or blockade the strategic oil hub.Axios had reported that Trump was considering an operation against Kharg to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane that Iran has largely blocked.According to AFP, US media also reported that Washington is deploying additional marines to the Middle East, suggesting a possible three-week ground campaign in the US-Israeli campaign.Asked about the Axios report, White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told AFP: “The United States military can take Kharg Island at any time if the president orders it.”“Thanks to an extensive planning process, the entire Administration is prepared for any potential action taken by the terrorist Iranian regime,” Kelly said.He said that “President Trump was well aware that Iran would try to prevent freedom of navigation and the free flow of energy, and he has already taken action to destroy more than 40 minelaying vessels.”Iran’s blockade has effectively halted commercial shipping through the maritime chokepoint, leading to a surge in global oil prices since the conflict began on February 28.Trump said the US military “totally destroyed” all military bases on Kharg in the strikes on Friday and warned that the island’s infrastructure could be damaged if Iran continued to block the Strait of Hormuz.On Thursday, the president described Kharg, which handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports, as “the little oil island out there, completely unprotected,” adding that the U.S. strikes had “taken away everything except the pipes.”