Prosper Okoye
The United States said Saturday that it destroyed dozens of Iranian military targets on the strategic Kharg Island while sparing the island’s oil infrastructure, amid rising tensions over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said naval mine storage facilities and missile bunkers were among sites hit in a “precision strike” targeting 90 Iranian military facilities. Kharg Island, a small island about 15 miles off Iran’s coast, hosts an oil terminal that handles roughly 90 percent of the country’s crude exports, alongside underground mines and air defence systems.
Announcing the operation on Truth Social late Friday, Donald Trump said US forces had “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.” He added that the oil infrastructure had been spared but could be targeted in the future if Iran interfered with shipping through the strait.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“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,” Trump said.
Iran’s Fars News Agency, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported more than 15 explosions on the island during the US strikes, targeting air defences, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar. It said no damage occurred to oil infrastructure but warned of “any attack” on Iran’s energy facilities.
“If this happens, all oil and gas infrastructure in the region in which the US and its allies have interests will be set on fire and destroyed,” the Iranian armed forces said.
Kharg Island is considered the backbone of Iran’s oil trade. Analysts say Iran earned $53 billion in net oil export revenue in 2025, roughly 11 percent of GDP. Petras Katinas, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the island is the primary gateway for crude exports and allows Iran to sustain oil sales despite US sanctions.
Trump’s focus on Kharg Island dates back decades. In a 1988 interview with The Guardian, he said he would be “harsh on Iran” and threatened the island if US forces were attacked. Asked on Friday whether he would seize it, he said it “was not high on the list” and described the question as “foolish.”
Two US officials said last week that Trump has privately considered deploying US troops inside Iran. On Friday, three US officials said about 5,000 additional Marines and sailors would be sent to the region to support the war effort.
Katinas said taking the island would “cut off Iran’s oil lifeline” but would require ground troops, a step the administration seems hesitant to undertake.
Iran’s deputy governor of Bushehr, Ehsan Jahaniyan, said Saturday that exports, imports, and company activities on the island were continuing normally.
The strike followed a statement Thursday by Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowing to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking Gulf states. About one-fifth of global oil supplies and one-third of fertiliser shipments pass through the waterway.
Eight seafarers and shipyard workers have died in attacks over the past two weeks, while four remain missing, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel amid the crisis, while the US eased sanctions on Russian oil to stabilise markets — a move criticised by Ukraine and European governments.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council condemned Iran’s attacks on neighbours and urged Tehran to halt threats to shipping.
Asked about US Navy escorts for tankers, Trump said, “It’ll happen soon. Very soon,” adding that gas prices would drop when the war ends.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed concerns about the strait’s closure, saying Iran is “exercising sheer desperation” and that the US remains on track to “defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities.”
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Trump also called on other nations to send warships to secure the strait. Posting on Truth Social, he urged affected countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom to join US efforts. The White House echoed the message, saying the strait will be “OPEN, SAFE, and FREE.”
The crisis is part of a broader Middle East conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, which escalated after US-Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets in February. Disruptions in the strait, through which more than 20 million barrels of oil pass daily, have raised fears of a wider regional war and global economic fallout.
Prosper Okoye is a Correspondent and Research Writer at Prime Business Africa, a Nigerian journalist with experience in development reporting, public affairs, and policy-focused storytelling across Africa
