Nearly all of Iran’s oil exports pass through the island, and an attack could trigger severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgenciesPublished: 7:23am, 14 Mar 2026Updated: 8:03am, 14 Mar 2026US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States had carried out strikes against “every military target” on Iran’s Kharg Island export hub.
“For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” Trump said in a social media post.
“However, 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.”
The small coral island about 33km (21 miles) off Iran’s coast is the primary terminal through which nearly all of Iran’s oil exports pass.
The US and Israel have treaded carefully around the island, but Trump administration officials have been reported as saying that capturing Kharg was on the table as the war in the Middle East persists.
Asked during a Fox News Radio interview – which was recorded Thursday night and aired the following morning – whether he was thinking about seizing the island, the president said it was “not high on the list” but also he could “change my mind in seconds”.
