Iran’s main crude export hub, Kharg Island, was hit by multiple strikes on Tuesday, according to Iranian news outlet Mehr. The island handles the bulk of the country’s oil exports. According to a report by Axios, which cited an unidentified senior US official, US conducted “strikes on military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island".
The development came as the Israeli military said it had completed a broad wave of strikes targeting “infrastructure sites" across Iran, without specifying locations.
“A short while ago, the IDF completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting dozens of infrastructure sites belonging to the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran," the military said in a statement.
The reported strikes on Kharg Island come two weeks after Tehran warned that any attack on its southern coast or islands would disrupt Gulf shipping routes through the use of sea mines.
US forces had also carried out strikes on Kharg in mid-March. US President Donald Trump said the attacks had “totally obliterated" military targets on the island and indicated that oil infrastructure could be next.
A Reuters report last month said two contingents of US Marines could be deployed to the region by end-March if Trump authorised a ground invasion. He has also set a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which expires Tuesday, and presented a peace plan to Tehran.
The United States is also weighing plans to occupy or blockade Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping, Axios reported.
“Any attempt to attack Iran’s coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf to be mined with various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast," Iran’s defence council said in a March 23 statement.
Kharg Island lies about 16 miles (26 km) off Iran’s coast in the northern Gulf, roughly 300 miles (483 km) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. Its deep waters allow large tankers to dock, unlike Iran’s shallow mainland coast.
The island handles nearly 90% of Iran’s oil exports. Any disruption or seizure would significantly impact Tehran’s energy trade. Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
