US Strikes Iranian Military Targets in Response to Threats
- US forces bombed military targets on the Iranian island of Kharg, announced by Donald Trump on Friday night.
- He threatened to strike the island’s oil facilities, crucial for Tehran.
Unprecedented strikes and new threats to pressure Tehran. On Friday night, Donald Trump declared having “completely destroyed” military targets on the Kharg island, Iran’s main oil hub, and threatened to target its oil infrastructure if Tehran obstructs the free passage of ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to the US president, the US military “conducted one of the most powerful air raids in Middle Eastern history, and completely destroyed all military targets” on Kharg. This island, located in the northern Gulf about 30 kilometers from the coast, is home to Iran’s largest crude oil export terminal.
“I chose NOT to destroy the island’s oil infrastructure. However, if Iran, or anyone else, does anything to obstruct the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I would immediately reconsider my decision,” wrote the US president on his Truth Social network.
Iranian Threats
“All oil, economic, and energy facilities owned by oil companies partly controlled by the US or cooperating with the US will be immediately destroyed and reduced to ashes,” threatened the spokesman for the central district of Khatam al-Anbiya, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, cited by Iranian media.
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War in the Middle East: latest information from Saturday, March 14
“The enemy attempted to damage the army’s defenses, the naval base of Joshan, the airport control tower, and the helicopter hangar of the Continental Shelf Oil Company,” reported the Iranian Fars agency on Saturday. During this attack, 15 explosions were heard, but “no oil infrastructure was damaged,” Fars wrote, citing unidentified “on-the-ground sources.”
The day before, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the influential President of the Iranian Parliament, stated that Tehran would “abandon all restraint” if the US and Israel attacked its Gulf islands.
