United States forces said they executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, but did not hit the oil infrastructure in the region.
The U.S. Central Command disclosed this on Saturday, describing the action as deliberate.
This comes as the US-Israeli war against Iran clocks two weeks and has had a major impact on the global economy, especially crude oil supply.
What the US is saying
The US military said it struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on the Iranian island.
- “U.S. forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure,” CENTCOM said in a post seen by Nairametrics on X.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the U.S. military said.
Backstory
US President Donald Trump had threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Reuters reported that Trump paired his Friday ultimatum with a social media post saying the U.S. had “totally obliterated” military targets on the island.
- The island is the export terminal for 90% of Iran’s oil shipments and lies about 300 miles (500 km) northwest of the strait.
- US strikes did not target Kharg’s oil infrastructure, but “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,” Trump wrote.
As the war entered its third week, Iran, however, struck a defiant note, playing down the extent of the damage on Kharg while threatening to step up its use of more powerful weapons and warning that parts of the United Arab Emirates were legitimate targets.
- “We declare to the leaders of the UAE that Iran considers it a legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by targeting the origin of American enemy missile launches in the shipping ports, docks, and military shelters of the U.S. hidden in some cities of the UAE,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
In a statement, the IRGC urged residents in the UAE to evacuate ports, docks, and U.S. military shelters to avoid civilian casualties.
What you should know
The US-Israeli war against Iran has continued to disrupt global oil supply over the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical world shipping route.
Trump said on Saturday that many countries would send warships to keep the strait open, but did not provide details on which countries would do so.
- “Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending warships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the strait open and safe,” Reuters quoted Trump’s post on Truth Social.
Amid the market volatility caused by Middle East tensions, Nairametrics reported on Friday that crude oil prices were on track for a significant weekly gain despite a brief dip following the announcement of a 30-day sanctions waiver on Russian crude stuck on tankers.
- Washington’s sanctions waiver on Russian oil follows an admission by the International Energy Agency that the war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
- The admission about the severity of the supply situation was accompanied by the announcement that the IEA would release a total of 400 million barrels of crude to cushion the oil shortage’s impact on the global economy. This is the highest volume of emergency oil releases in history.
The United States said it would contribute 172 million barrels of that total, reversing an earlier position that it had no plans to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to fill any global supply gaps.
