An Iranian tanker was hit by four U.S. missiles near Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday. Tasnim said the crew was being evacuated with no casualties, while U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Iranian tanker was hit by U.S. forces on Saturday near Kharg Island, Iran's key oil export hub in the Gulf, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. A Tasnim correspondent on Kharg reported the tanker was struck by four U.S. missiles in the area of the island's anchorage.
No casualties reported, crew evacuated
Tasnim quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and that the tanker's crew was being evacuated. There was no immediate official statement from Iranian authorities, and U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump had vowed to target the island
Separately, U.S. President Donald Trump said on August 31 in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was being "blown to smithereens". Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked.
Trump said on June 11 that he wanted to take over Kharg Island, then said a threatened U.S. military operation there was off the table for now, days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement aimed at ending the war on June 17.
Oil flows already disrupted by blockade
Iran is the third-largest producer in OPEC and exported 90% of its crude oil via Kharg Island before the war, but flows have been disrupted since a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.
The U.S. imposed the blockade after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war. A U.S. attack on Kharg would heap further pressure on Iran's oil industry and its wider economy, already reeling from the naval blockade.
Source: US Top News and Analysis
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