Iran oil hub targets ‘obliterated,’ U.S. to supply Asia with energy

TEHRAN (AFP) — No oil infrastructure was damaged in United States strikes on Kharg Island, Tehran’s crude export hub in the Gulf, Iranian media reported on Saturday, following a threat by US President Donald Trump to target it.

The Fars news agency, citing sources on the island, reported that US strikes had destroyed only military targets.

Trump had threatened in a social media post to target oil infrastructure on the island, a crucial hub for Iran, if Tehran continues to block oil ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Friday US forces had “totally obliterated” all military targets on Kharg Island, describing it in a social media post as “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East.”

The US leader said he had chosen not to “wipe out” oil infrastructure on the Iranian island, for now.

“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,” he said.

Trump said the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “very soon” to restore oil exports.

Iran has, in turn, threatened to target US-linked oil infrastructure, saying such facilities will be “immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes.”

According to Fars, the US operation “tried to damage the army’s defenses, the Joshan naval base, the airport control tower and the helicopter hangar of the Iran Continental Shelf Oil Company.”

Kharg Island handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports.

Meanwhile, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Saturday, the US can provide “reliable” energy supplies to Asia-Pacific as the Middle East war cripples the region’s oil and gas flow.

Trump’s “energy dominance” policy aims to ensure that “we have energy to allow for prosperity at home, and we have the ability to sell energy to our friends and allies,” Burgum told an event in Tokyo bringing together 17 countries from the region.

That ensures the region has a “reliable, affordable and secure” energy supply that “can’t be interrupted by a terrorist regime,” he said.

US company Venture Global concluded a long-term contract to supply 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas to a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha.

Japanese giant Hitachi and US firm GE Vernova also agreed on Saturday to explore Southeast Asia for opportunities to build next-generation reactors known as small modular reactors.