US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the vital Strait of Hormuz, a warning that could further roil markets already coping with a historic disruption in supply.
Mr Trump paired his ultimatum with a social media post saying the US had “totally obliterated” military targets on the island, the export terminal for 90% of Iran’s oil shipments, which lies about 483km 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,” Mr Trump wrote.
Iran had no ability to defend against US attacks, the president added.
“Iran’s Military, and all others involved with this Terrorist Regime, would be wise to lay down their arms, and save what’s left of their country, which isn’t much!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump told reporters yesterday that the US Navy will “soon” start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world’s fossil energy supplies.
As the war entered its third week, Iran, however, has shown no sign of capitulating or bowing to US-Israeli military pressure.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father, has said the strategic waterway should remain closed as a tool of pressure.
Iran’s armed forces responded to the Kharg attack by saying any strike on their country’s oil and energy infrastructure would lead to strikes on facilities owned by oil companies cooperating with the United States in the region, Iranian media reported.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing sources, that more than 15 explosions were heard on Kharg Island during the US attacks.
The sources said air defenses, a naval base and airport facilities were hit, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.
Markets were watching for any sign that US strikes had damaged the island’s intricate network of pipelines, terminals and storage tanks. Even minor disruptions could further tighten global supply, adding pressure to an already volatile market.
Oil prices have swung sharply on Mr Trump’s changing comments about the likely duration of the war, which began with massive US and Israeli bombardments of Iran and quickly spread into a regional conflict with broad consequences for worldwide energy and stock markets.
Although he has previously said the war would last only weeks, Mr Trump declined to publicly project an end date for the conflict.
“I can’t tell you that,” he said to reporters. “I mean, I have my own idea, but what good does it do? It’ll be as long as it’s necessary.”
Iran continued to export crude oil while other producers in the Gulf halted their shipments for fear of Iranian attacks.
Multiple very large crude oil tankers were loading at Kharg on Wednesday, according to satellite imagery reviewed by TankerTrackers.com.
Iran exported between 1.1 million barrels per day and 1.5 million bpd from 28 February to Wednesday.
Markets roiled by oil industry strikes
The US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missile attack this morning, causing smoke to rise from the building, Iraqi security sources said. They did not have further details on the strike.
In other attacks across the region, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out additional attacks on Israel with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
Some oil loading operations in the port of UAE’s Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz, have been suspended after a drone attack and fire this morning, Bloomberg News has reported citing people familiar with the matter.
12 medical staff were killed following an overnight Israeli attack in southern Lebanon
At least 12 medical personnel were killed in an Israeli strike on a healthcare centre in the town of Borj Qalaouiya in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state news agency has reported, citing the health ministry.
Reports from Iranian media said at least 12 people were killed and several others wounded in attacks on multiple locations across Iran, including central and southeastern provinces.
After two weeks of war, 2,000 people have been killed, mostly in Iran but many in Lebanon and a growing number in the Gulf. Several million people have been displaced from their homes.
US forces have suffered casualties, including the deaths of all six crew members aboard a refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq.
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