U.S. forces struck Kharg Island, the site of Iran’s largest oil export terminal, in a strike that U.S. officials say was limited to military targets and did not hit oil storage or shipping infrastructure.
On the 7th (local time), U.S. Central Command carried out the strikes on Kharg Island, Axios and the Associated Press reported. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking to reporters in Budapest, confirmed the operation and said the strikes were aimed at military facilities.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said Kharg Island was hit several times that day and that residents heard multiple explosions.
Kharg Island, off Iran’s southern coast in the Persian Gulf, hosts critical infrastructure that handles more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports. Damage to those export facilities would deal a severe blow to Iran’s energy sector.
Iranian officials also said the strikes were confined to military sites. Iran’s ILNA news agency quoted government sources saying the island’s oil facilities were not attacked.
ILNA added that the morning and afternoon strikes did not target oil infrastructure and that all oil-related equipment and installations in the area were operating normally.
Vice President Vance said, “We planned strikes against certain military targets on Kharg Island, and we believe those strikes occurred.” He stressed, however, that the United States will not target energy facilities or critical civilian infrastructure unless Iran rejects a proposal the U.S. can accept—or fails to put forward an acceptable offer.
