US President Donald Trump late on Sunday shared an AI-generated video of the imagined destruction of Iran's Kharg Island, saying that the strategic oil hub is “being blown to smithereens.”
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.
Earlier on Sunday, US forces struck two Iranian launchers on an entirely separate island, Larak Island, marking the first US strikes on Iranian territory since late July, a US official told Axios.
The operation targeted systems that were allegedly being prepared to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said several fighters and civilians were killed or injured in the strike and vowed to respond.
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that preliminary information indicated the attack was carried out by drones.
In response, Iran's military said on Monday it had launched dozens of explosive drones at US troops and helicopters stationed at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, in retaliation for the attack. This includes multiple missile attacks across the region.
Kharg Island, a vital centre for Iran's oil industry and exports, has been inactive since July 31, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler and consultancy Energy Aspects.
Satellite imagery showed that all three loading berths at Kharg had remained vacant for an extended period, according to maritime intelligence company Windward.
The island normally handles nearly 90 percent of Iran's crude exports due to its deep-water access for large oil tankers.
Trump reiterates Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons
The attack came at the same time the US President said that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if it acquired one, warning 'there would be no lsrael,' with US, Europe possibly targeted next.
Trump reiterated that Iran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, describing the country’s leadership as “very violent, evil people.”
“You cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Fox News in an interview published on Sunday.
“If I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel. And there would probably be no Middle East,” he added.
Trump also said the US is inflicting significant damage on Iran and praised what he described as an effective blockade on Iran.
“We are doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable ... we are hitting them very hard. Nobody has ever been hit like this,” he said.
Trump called Iran a “failing nation” and said he was surprised when Tehran began targeting Gulf countries at the start of the war.
“Everybody was shocked. I was surprised,” he said, adding that he believed the attacks caused Iran to lose support.
Trump also accused Democrats of wanting the US to lose its wars on Iran and Venezuela, adding that would not happen because the country is “absolutely winning easily.”
