U.S. president Donald Trump said on Friday, March 13th, that American forces had carried out a major strike on Iran’s Kharg Island, destroying military targets on the strategically important island that serves as the main hub for the country’s crude oil exports.
Posting on social media, Trump said the United States Central Command had executed “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East,” claiming that American forces had “totally obliterated every military target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”
The president emphasized that the strikes were aimed at military facilities rather than the island’s oil infrastructure. However, he warned that the decision could change if Iran interferes with global shipping routes in the region.
“I have chosen NOT to wipe out the oil infrastructure on the island,” Trump wrote. “However, 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.”
Kharg Island lies roughly 33 kilometres off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf and handles around 90% of the country’s crude oil exports.
“A direct strike would immediately halt the bulk of Iran’s crude exports, likely triggering severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz or against regional energy infrastructure,” J.P. Morgan said.
Following Trump’s remarks, Iran’s armed forces issued a warning that oil and energy infrastructure linked to the United States could become targets if Iranian facilities were attacked. According to a statement from the military’s Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters cited by Iranian media, energy infrastructure belonging to companies cooperating with Washington would be “destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s oil assets were targeted.
