Iranian Tanker Hit by U.S. Missiles Near Kharg Island, Tasnim Reports

AFP

Kharg Island.

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 Iranian news agency Tasnim.

A Tasnim correspondent reporting from Kharg said the tanker was struck by four US missiles while it was in the anchorage area off the island.

Local sources quoted by Tasnim said there were no casualties and that the tanker’s crew was being evacuated.

Earlier in the day,  the semi-official Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near Iran’s Kharg Island in the Gulf, a key oil terminal. Fars news agency said blasts were heard by its correspondent, but that there was no smoke visible, while the SNN news agency reported that “an Iranian tanker was targeted by the U.S.” near the island.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a one-line social media post on 31 August, accompanied by an AI-generated video, that Kharg Island was being “blown to smithereens”. Iranian authorities have vowed to respond forcefully if the island is attacked.

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and exported around 90 per cent of its crude through Kharg Island before the war. However, oil flows have been disrupted since the US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.

On 11 June, Trump said he wanted to take control of Kharg Island, before later indicating that a threatened U.S. military operation against the island was off the table for the time being. His remarks came days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement on 17 June aimed at ending the war.

A U.S. attack on Kharg Island would place further pressure on Iran’s oil industry and wider economy, which is already suffering from the effects of the U.S. naval blockade.

The U.S. imposed the blockade on Iranian ports after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the war.



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