Kharg Island, the hub for most of Iran’s oil exports, came under attack Tuesday, state-affiliated media reported, signaling an escalation in the war as President Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz approaches.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported that explosions rocked the small island early Tuesday, though the targets of the airstrikes and the damage are not yet known.
The U.S. previously launched strikes on Kharg Island on March 13, with U.S. Central Command confirming that precision airstrikes destroyed naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers. However, the March attacks avoided the island’s oil infrastructure, used in Iran’s exporting operations.
The island is Iran’s energy revenue linchpin, managing at least 90% of the country’s oil exports. While sufficient damage to its oil infrastructure from airstrikes would devastate Tehran financially, the risk is that Iran’s retaliation would increase pressure on international markets.
Mr. Trump has implied for weeks that U.S. forces could seize Kharg Island or that airstrikes could “completely obliterate” the island’s oil infrastructure if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which it has kept effectively closed since early March.
Iran has reportedly laid traps on the island and deployed air defenses ahead of a potential U.S. invasion or assault.
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At least 20% of the world’s oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz each year, and its closure has put extreme pressure on global markets and brought the effects of the U.S. and Israel’s war to nations around the world.
The apparent attacks on Kharg Island come as the U.S. and Israel launch a wave of attacks on Iranian infrastructure this week. Several highways, civilian roadways and railway bridges have been damaged or destroyed in U.S. airstrikes, and Israel has attacked petrochemical facilities in Iran this week.
