Explainer: The effect US attacks on Iran’s main oil export hub could have

Team TOI PlusTNN
Mar 14, 2026 | 20:52 IST
Footage shared by US President Donald Trump showing a missile attack in Iran

Military installations on the island near the Iran mainland were bombarded by the US and President Donald Trump has threatened to target oil infrastructure on the island next.

As Iran continued to block nautical traffic along the Strait of Hormuz, the US on Saturday said it had conducted a large bombing raid on the country’s oil export hub - Kharg island - in an attempt to change that. The island has long been seen as a key vulnerability that could provoke a severe response by Tehran if it was attacked.

US President Donald Trump claimed in a post that the raid had “totally obliterated” military forces on the island. He said that he had directed the Pentagon not to damage its oil infrastructure, “for reasons of decency.”
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