The US struck military sites on Kharg Island, from which Iran exports almost all its oil, for the first time overnight, upping the ante in a West Asia war that’s raged for more than two weeks and shows little sign of easing.
President Donald Trump said military facilities on the Persian Gulf island had been “obliterated,” adding that he chose not to hit oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency.”
He threatened to do just that should Iran “do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Playing down the extent of the damage on Kharg, Iran warned it will target American-linked oil and energy facilities in West Asia if its own petroleum infrastructure is attacked. Iranian media said all oil-industry workers on the island, which sits about 25 kilometres (16 miles) off the mainland, are safe and unharmed.
As the war entered its third week, Iran also threatened to step up its use of more powerful weapons and warning parts of the United Arab Emirates were a legitimate target.
“We declare to the leaders of the UAE that Iran considers it a legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by targeting the origin of American enemy missile launches in the shipping ports, docks, and military shelters of the US hidden in some cities of the UAE,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
In a statement, the IRGC urged residents in the UAE to evacuate ports, docks, and US military shelters to avoid civilian casualties.
The strike on is likely to raise fears of more oil and natural gas supply disruptions in the region. Brent crude closed above $100 a barrel on Friday and is at its highest level in almost four years. “All oil, economic, and energy facilities belonging to oil companies in the region that are partly owned by the United States or that cooperate with the United States will be immediately destroyed and reduced to ashes” if Iran’s energy and economic assets are hit, the country’s Fars News Agency reported, citing the central military command.
The outlet said more than 15 explosions shook Kharg Island, with the targets including air-defence systems, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar. It didn’t specify the scale of the damage. The US military said it destroyed missile and naval-mine storage infrastructure.
Fars also said that oil exports from Kharg are continuing as normal following the strikes.
In the days leading up to the US-Israeli attacks, Iran ramped up exports from Kharg to near record levels of over 3 million barrels per day, JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts, including Natasha Kaneva, said in a research note. That was nearly triple the normal rate of shipments.
A strike on Kharg’s oil sites “would immediately halt the bulk of Iran’s crude exports, likely triggering severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz or against regional energy infrastructure,” the JPMorgan analysts said.
The UAE government said the country detected nine missiles and 33 drones being fired at it on Saturday. The figure is broadly in line with the numbers from the previous few days.
