New Delhi: Multiple explosions were reported Tuesday on Kharg Island, Iran’s critical hub for oil exports, as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz draws near.
Iran’s semi-state media outlet Mehr News Agency reported multiple strikes on Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports. American media outlet Axios quoted a US official as having said that the US struck “military targets on Kharg Island”.
Shortly after the strikes, Trump declared in a post on Truth Social: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Despite recent US strikes targeting military installations there, oil operations on Kharg Island have continued largely uninterrupted.
The island’s deep waters allow large tankers to dock, linking inland oil fields to global markets, and also has a network of pipelines and storage facilities.
On 13-14 March, the US launched an aerial and missile assault on Kharg with an aim to eliminate military installations there. Oil facilities on the island were spared at the time, according to reports by Iranian media.
An attempt to take the island by force would be a complex and costly affair. Holding the island would involve thousands of troops on the ground, deft coordination between air, ground and naval forces and continuous evasion of Iranian missiles and drones.
US President Donald Trump Monday issued an ultimatum to Tehran, saying the US could decimate Iran in a ‘single night’ if the Strait of Hormuz is not re-opened.
He set a deadline of 5:30 AM IST Wednesday for reaching an acceptable deal that ensures the free flow of energy through the critical passageway. The US President had earlier threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges, power plants and water desalination plants.
On Tuesday, Iranian media reported that three people were killed and two others injured in a strike on the Yahya Abad railway bridge in central Iran’s Kashan city, hours after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued warnings asking Iranian residents to avoid traveling by train and to stay away from train stations.
On its part, Iran’s military dismissed Trump’s ultimatum as “delusional” and denounced it as “rude, arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats”.
Speaking at a press conference at the White House the previous night, Trump had said the US could target Iran’s energy and transport infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not re-opened until Tuesday 8pm (Eastern Time).
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by warning that its era of restraint is over and threatened to target US and allied energy infrastructure across the Gulf. The statement added that Iran’s response could extend beyond the region if American forces crossed what it described as “red lines”.
Last week, Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s parliamentary national security committee, had issued a stark warning regarding Kharg island.
“Any attack on Kharg Island will be met with a decisive response, and anyone who attacks this island will not return alive,” he was quoted as having said.
Iran’s army Tuesday said it carried out large-scale drone strikes targeting US and Israeli-linked facilities, including a petrochemical power unit and fuel storage site near Dimona in southern Israel, a naval maintenance facility at Jebel Ali Port in Saudi Arabia, and radar and housing installations at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, reported Iran International. The military framed these actions as retaliation for strikes on Iranian energy and infra sites.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: When geography is a weapon: How Iran is using 7 islands to keep a chokehold on Strait of Hormuz
One of the commenters over here said “republicans should impeach him”. Mate this is what America is. Trump is just not using words like “freedom” and “democracy” to sell their BS.
Their media which pretends to be independent will also sell this BS to us. I hate the west because they are hypocrites but Trump is not. He is honest and I like that he is exposing America
This madman has now crossed all limits. The Republicans should impeach him. The world should rally around and try this man as a war criminal.