Dubai
An Iranian tanker was hit by four US missiles near the anchorage of Kharg Island in the Gulf on Saturday, according to semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim, in an escalation around Iran’s key oil export hub.
A Tasnim correspondent at Kharg reported the strike and said the tanker’s crew was being evacuated. Local sources cited by the agency said there were no casualties.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities, while US Central Command had not responded to requests for comment. The reported attack comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s oil exports and the strategic waters surrounding the country.
Kharg Island is central to Iran’s petroleum trade. Before the war, around 90% of Iran’s crude exports passed through the island. Oil flows have since been disrupted by a US blockade that began in mid-April, adding pressure to an economy already weakened by the conflict.
The development also carries significance because of previous US threats involving Kharg. President Donald Trump said on August 31 that the island was being “blown to smithereens” in a social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video. Earlier, on June 11, Trump had said he wanted to take over Kharg, before indicating that a planned military operation was off the table for the time being.
Any further attacks around Kharg could deepen pressure on Iran’s oil sector and raise fresh concerns about regional energy supplies, particularly after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies had previously moved.
