A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, 25 February 2026;
Credit: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - On Saturday 14 March 2026, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran's Kharg Island hub unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a warning that could further roil markets coping with a historic supply disruption.
Trump paired his ultimatum on Friday 13 March 2026 with a social media post saying the US had "totally obliterated" military targets on the island, the export terminal for 90% of Iran's oil shipments, which lies about 300 miles (500 km) northwest of the strait.
US strikes did not target Kharg's oil infrastructure, but "should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," Trump wrote.
Iran shows no sign of capitulation as strikes spread
Iran could not defend against US attacks, the president said. "Iran’s Military, and all others involved with this Terrorist Regime, would be wise to lay down their arms, and save what’s left of their country, which isn’t much!" he posted on his Truth Social platform.
He later posted: "The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!"
Iran, however, showed no sign of capitulating or bowing to US-Israeli military pressure.
Iran's armed forces responded to the Kharg attack by saying any strike on their country's oil and energy infrastructure would lead to strikes on facilities owned by oil companies cooperating with the United States in the region, Iranian media reported.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing sources, that more than fifteen explosions were heard on the island during the US attacks. The sources said air defences, a naval base and airport facilities were hit, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.
Markets were watching for any sign that US strikes had damaged the island's intricate network of pipelines, terminals and storage tanks. Even minor disruptions could further tighten global supply, adding pressure to a volatile market.
Iran also claimed success in shooting down five drones over its airspace, bringing to 114 the total US and Israeli drones it has downed during the war, Iranian state TV reported on Saturday.
Oil prices have swung sharply on Trump's changing comments about the likely duration of the war, which began on Saturday 28 February 2026 with massive US and Israeli bombardments of Iran and quickly spread into a regional conflict with broad consequences for worldwide energy and stock markets.
The US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missile attack on Saturday, causing smoke to rise from the building, Iraqi security sources said. They did not have further details on the strike.
In other attacks across the region, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out additional attacks on Israel with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.
On Friday the Israeli military said its air force had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air-defence systems and weapons production sites.
Gulf, Lebanon become flashpoints
After two weeks of war, 2,000 people have been killed, most in Iran but many in Lebanon and a growing number in the Gulf. Several million people have been displaced from their homes.
US forces have suffered casualties, including the deaths of all six crew members aboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq.
Five US Air Force tankers at a base in Saudi Arabia were damaged by an Iranian missile strike and were being repaired, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
In addition to Iran's missile and aerial drone attacks on Israel and Gulf state allies of the US, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has sought to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world's fossil energy supplies.
Trump told reporters on Friday the US Navy will "soon" start escorting tankers through the waterway.
Although he has previously said the war would last only weeks, Trump on Friday declined to publicly project an end date for the conflict, telling reporters: "It'll be as long as it's necessary."
Iran continued to export crude oil while other producers in the Gulf halted their shipments for fear of Iranian attacks.
Multiple very large crude oil tankers were loading at Kharg on Wednesday 11 March 2026, according to satellite imagery reviewed by TankerTrackers.com. Iran exported between 1.1 million barrels per day and 1.5 million bpd from Saturday 28 February to Wednesday 11 March.
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public comments on Thursday 12 March 2026, vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and urged neighbouring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk being attacked themselves.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday Iran's new leader was wounded and likely disfigured, questioning Khamenei's ability to govern.
No images have been released of Khamenei since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife. Iran says the new supreme leader was wounded, but an official said on Friday he was not "impaired."
