Trump claims Iran’s Kharg Island ‘blown to smithereens’ but provides no evidence

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s strategically important Kharg Island was being subjected to heavy attack, but he offered no details or evidence to substantiate the claim.

“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!” Trump wrote in a brief post on social media, accompanied by a video depicting large explosions.

The White House and the US Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for clarification about the president’s statement. There was also no immediate reaction from Iranian state media or other Iranian outlets to Trump’s claim.

Reuters examined the video accompanying the post and found that it appeared to have been generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence. A tool designed to identify synthetic imagery indicated that the footage was most likely AI-generated.

Kharg Island is a crucial component of Iran’s oil infrastructure. Before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28, the island was responsible for handling around 90% of Iran’s oil exports.

Any confirmed attack on Kharg could therefore have significant consequences for Iran’s energy sector, potentially disrupting oil exports and placing additional pressure on an economy already affected by the conflict and international sanctions.

Trump’s claim came amid a wider escalation between the United States and Iran. US forces recently struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian forces subsequently reported attacks on US military positions in the region.

The US Treasury is also preparing further economic measures against Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington expects to impose additional secondary sanctions on Iran on a regular basis, initially targeting financial institutions.

Iran responded to an earlier U.S. attack on rocket launchers on its island of Larak, about 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, with an assault on two U.S. bases in Jordan, Iranian media said.

The return to hostilities followed weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.

“We’re starting with the banks, and we’re telling the banks it’s not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime,” Bessent said in an interview.

After imposing penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial links to Iran, Bessent said the next step may be cutting off an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.

“You’re going to see a lot more of these every week,” Bessent told Reuters, ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders.

First known military attack in weeks

In describing the first known U.S. military strikes since late July, a U.S. official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island.

The small island in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas overlooks shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf, giving it a key role in tension over Iran, maritime security and global energy supplies.

“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” the source added.

In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Jordan, targeting two U.S. bases. Jordan’s armed forces had intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, state television said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed a “response and punishment” from Tehran, according to Iranian state media.

In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took “limited, precise” action against minelaying forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that posed an “imminent threat” in the Strait of Hormuz. It gave no details.

After the U.S. strikes, Iran attacked U.S. forces station in Jordan, a Fox News reporter said on Sunday, citing a U.S. source. Nearly all incoming missiles “have been intercepted at this point,” the reporter said on X, flagging a lack of significant impact.

Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.

The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump ​said all mines ‌had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be ​destroyed.

While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ navy had called those statements “an obvious lie”, reiterating that it remained closed to ships without Iranian permission. The waterway carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before it was blockaded in the six-month-old Iran war.

Iran is the ⁠third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.