Iran threatens US-linked oil targets after Trump says Kharg Island bombed

Iran’s armed forces warned on Saturday they would target oil infrastructure linked to the United States after Donald Trump said Washington had bombed military targets on Kharg Island, the key hub for Iran’s crude exports.

In a statement cited by Iranian media, the military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said energy facilities belonging to companies cooperating with the United States would be “immediately destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s own oil infrastructure came under attack.

The warning followed remarks by Trump, who said strikes had “totally obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island, located about 30 kilometres off Iran’s coast and responsible for roughly 90 percent of the country’s crude exports, according to a note by JPMorgan.

The US president said he had refrained from targeting the island’s oil facilities for now but warned he could reconsider if Iran interfered with shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key route for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. He also said the US Navy could soon begin escorting tankers through the waterway.

US officials have also suggested that seizing Kharg Island could be an option under consideration, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

****The conflict has sharply disrupted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and rattled global energy markets, pushing crude prices above $100 a barrel amid fears of supply shortages and rising inflation.

As tensions escalated, Washington reportedly moved additional forces into the region. The Pentagon deployed the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli from Japan along with around 2,500 US Marines, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Fighting continued across the region. Explosions were reported in Tehran late Friday after the United States vowed to intensify air strikes, while Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks toward Israel and several Gulf states.

Air defenses in Qatar intercepted missiles near Doha early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it had shot down dozens of drones. Türkiye also reported that NATO forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran.

The war has also intensified fighting in Lebanon, where the health ministry said an Israeli strike on a healthcare center in the south killed at least 12 medical personnel. Lebanese authorities say at least 773 people have died in Israeli strikes targeting the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

The conflict erupted after a US-Israeli campaign that began on Feb. 28 and killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new leader but has not appeared publicly and is reported to be wounded. The US government has announced a $10-million reward for information on his whereabouts.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military planned to intensify strikes, with the Pentagon estimating that US and Israeli forces have hit more than 15,000 targets in Iran over the past two weeks.

Inside Iran, authorities have imposed an internet blackout and warned of harsh action against protests. Residents speaking anonymously describe shortages of cash, medicine and food as air strikes continue, while the UNHCR estimates up to 3.2 million people have been displaced since the war began.

Iran’s health ministry said earlier this month that more than 1,200 people had been killed in the fighting, a figure that has not been independently verified. The US military has also reported losing 13 personnel since the conflict began, including six crew members killed in the crash of a refuelling aircraft in Iraq.