Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island is being blown to smithereens, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video clip.
There was no other evidence that the Iranian energy hub was under attack. The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.
There was no immediate response to Trump’s post on Iranian media.
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Trump said on social media, but gave no further details.
Trump just posted this AI slop video: “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!” pic.twitter.com/nyNZwz2LnK
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 31, 2026
Reuters confirmed that an accompanying video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically-generated, using software that detects AI-manipulated imagery.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on 28 February, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy.
Iran responded to an earlier U.S. attack on rocket launchers on its island of Larak, about 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, with an assault on two U.S. bases in Jordan, Iranian media said.
The return to hostilities followed weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.
“We’re starting with the banks, and we’re telling the banks it’s not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime,” Bessent said in an interview.
After imposing penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial links to Iran, Bessent said the next step may be cutting off an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.
“You’re going to see a lot more of these every week,” Bessent told Reuters, ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders.
First known military attacks in weeks
In describing the first known U.S. military strikes since late July, a U.S. official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island.
The small island in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas overlooks shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf, giving it a key role in tension over Iran, maritime security and global energy supplies.
U.S. Just Attacked Iran’s Larak Island, Reports of Casualties
Larak Island sits near Iran’s strategic ‘toll booth’ for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
A U.S. official told Al Jazeera: Our forces bombed two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps missile launch platforms on… pic.twitter.com/HguCth0o69
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) August 30, 2026
“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” the source added.
In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Jordan, targeting two U.S. bases. Jordan’s armed forces had intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, state television said.
“U.S. forces in Jordan are under missile attack.”
FOX News’ @TreyYingst reports Iran is attacking U.S. bases in Jordan in response to American strikes on Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island.
“There are efforts underway to shoot down this incoming fire,” Yingst reports, as… pic.twitter.com/mTh23RgmbK
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 30, 2026
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed a “response and punishment” from Tehran, according to Iranian state media.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took “limited, precise” action against minelaying forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that posed an “imminent threat” in the Strait of Hormuz. It gave no details.
After the U.S. strikes, Iran attacked U.S. forces station in Jordan, a Fox News reporter said on Sunday, citing a U.S. source. Nearly all incoming missiles “have been intercepted at this point,” the reporter said on X, flagging a lack of significant impact.
Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.
The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.
Last week Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ navy had called those statements “an obvious lie”, reiterating that it remained closed to ships without Iranian permission.
The waterway carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before it was blockaded in the six-month-old Iran war.
Iran is the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
With Reuters
Caption: Videograb from AI-generated video posted by Donald Tump on Truth Social [EUalive]
Updated: August 31, 2026 – 06:06
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