ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces have “obliterated” all military targets on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island while sparing oil facilities, warning that he will “reconsider” this restraint if Tehran disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account early Saturday.
Trump added that so far he has decided to “NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” however, he warned that “should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”
On Thursday, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public message, vowed that Tehran will continue attacking US military bases in the region if they are used to launch attacks against Iran, as well as doubling down on a commitment to blockade the strait to pressure Iranian foes.
The conflict has largely disrupted shipping through the strategic waterway, one of the world’s most important shipping routes and its most vital oil transit chokepoint, with Iranian forces attacking several vessels attempting to cross it.
The development has led to a sudden rise in oil and diesel prices, with almost 20 million barrels of oil per day unable to make it safely past the waterway.
Following the comments, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned Washington that “all oil, economic, and energy infrastructure” with American ownership or in cooperation with the United States would be “immediately destroyed and reduced to ashes” if Iran’s energy sector is attacked, read a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Kharg Island is one of the most strategically important locations in Iran, serving as the country’s main hub for oil exports and a critical node in global energy markets.
Located in the Persian Gulf, the small island of roughly 20 square kilometers plays an outsized role in Iran’s economy and regional geopolitics, as it hosts massive storage tanks that can hold up to 30 million barrels of oil.
Shargh Daily, a state-affiliated newspaper, reported Saturday that more than 15 explosions were heard on the island, adding that the island’s air defenses were targeted, along with naval bases, and that the airport control tower sustained damage.
“Iran has NO ability to defend anything that we want to attack — There is nothing they can do about it! Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon, nor will it have the ability to threaten the United States of America, the Middle East or, for that matter, the World!” Trump also said.
*new region*
