Satellite image of Iran's Kharg Island, in the northern Arabian Gulf, home to the main terminal for Iranian crude oil exports and handling the vast majority of the country's oil shipments abroad. The image dates from March 2, 2026. ESA VIA AFP
Until US strikes on Kharg Island on Friday, March 13, the key oil export hub had remained an untouched and untouchable target in the Middle East conflict. The highly strategic island, Iran's main crude oil export terminal, had been spared from US-Israeli airstrikes since they began on February 28. Analysts said this was likely to avoid a new surge in oil prices and a direct affront to China, the primary, and nearly sole, customer for Iranian oil exports.
But that all changed after US strikes on the island on Friday.
According to Iran's Fars news agency, oil infrastructure was reportedly not damaged. US President Donald Trump claimed he had "chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil infrastructure on the Island" in a post on his TruthSocial platform. He said the airstrike focused on military targets. But, Trump wrote, these facilities could be targeted in future strikes "should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz."
