By Ian Werther in News — 14 Mar 2026

U.S. reportedly strikes Kharg Island as Trump claims Iran defeated

The United States reportedly carried out a large-scale airstrike on Kharg Island, an Iranian oil export hub, on March 13 local time. The report, carried by South Korea’s Newsis, included a photo captured from former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account showing the strike.

Hours after the strike, Trump claimed on Truth Social that Iran had been “completely defeated,” and he criticized “fake news” outlets for not reporting the United States’ success. He said Iran is now seeking negotiations, but added that any deal would not be acceptable to him.

Bottom view of the iwan at one of the entrances at Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran. this picture merged from 25 pictures. 5 frames and each frame contain 5 pictures with 5 levels of exposure. HDR + Panorama — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

In a separate post, Trump said U.S. Central Command conducted “one of the most powerful bombardments” in Middle East history and asserted that all military targets on Kharg Island had been destroyed. He urged Iran’s forces and supporters to lay down their weapons and warned that the regime’s broader ambitions in the region had been thwarted.

Trump also released a roughly one-minute video on Truth Social showing footage of the strike, according to the report.

Kharg Island is a strategic oil-loading facility in Iran’s Persian Gulf and has long been cited as a focal point in discussions of Iran’s energy exports and related sanctions. A strike on its facilities would mark a high-profile escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions and could have implications for global energy markets.

Iran’s Musa Bay (خور موسی) on the northern end of the Persian Gulf is pictured in this image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite on 13 January 2017.
Near the centre, we can see the port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini, situated at the terminus of the Trans-Iranian Railway – a route that links the Persian Gulf with Iran’s capital, Tehran.
The dark area to the right of the port is Musa Bay, a shallow estuary. The large geometric structures along the top appear to be evaporation ponds for extracting naturally occurring minerals from the ground.
The left side of the image is dominated by the marshes and mudflats of the Shadegan wildlife refuge. It is the largest wetland in Iran, and plays a significant role in the natural ecology of the area.
The area provides a wintering habitat for a wide variety of migratory birds, and is the most important site in the world for a rare species of aquatic bird: the marbled duck. The northern part of the wetland is a vital freshwater habitat for many endangered species.
This area is considered a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty for the sustainable use of wetlands.
World Wetlands Day is observed every year on 2 February.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme. — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 igo. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

For U.S. readers, the episode matters because disruptions to Iranian oil exports can influence global crude prices, shipping costs, and energy security for the United States and its allies. The development also intersects with broader U.S. foreign policy and regional security considerations in the Middle East.

The report notes that the principal claims originate from Trump’s social-media posts and a circulated video, with no independent verification provided in the cited sources. Verification from U.S. defense officials or Iranian authorities would be needed to confirm the strike’s scope and impact.

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