Trump Says U.S. Destroyed All Military Targets on Iran's Kharg Island Oil Hub

On the 13th, President Donald Trump said via his social media account that U.S. forces had destroyed all military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s principal oil-export hub, in a strike.

Trump said the attack demonstrated the United States’ military might, but indicated that, out of decorum, the island’s oil infrastructure would not be destroyed. He warned that if Iran or anyone else tries to disrupt safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the decision would be reassessed immediately.

He asserted that Iran would never possess nuclear weapons and would not threaten the United States, the region, or the world, urging Iranian forces and the current regime to lay down their arms.

Observers described the Kharg Island strike as a military move intended to pressure a reopening of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran had blocked it, affecting the flow of oil shipments.

Kharg Island has long served as Iran’s main oil-export hub. Since the 1960s, when the American oil company Amoco built facilities there, it has functioned as a major export terminal capable of moving up to seven million barrels of oil per day.

The island hosts extensive storage tanks, a long quay capable of handling ultra-large crude carriers, workers’ housing, and an airstrip connecting to the mainland. It is also linked to Iran’s key oil fields via underwater pipelines, underscoring its centrality to export operations.

For global markets, the episode highlights how security tensions in the Persian Gulf can influence oil supply, prices, and risk in U.S. energy and financial markets, given the Strait of Hormuz’s role as a major conduit for crude shipments.