US attacks Iran’s Kharg Island, Trump says
US President Donald Trump says the American military has just bombed the critical Iranian base of Kharg Island, but has spared oil infrastructure.
The island had not yet been targeted in the war, which has gone for two weeks. It is variously described as Iran’s “crown jewel” and “Achilles heel” because its oil terminal handles around 90 per cent of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Trump said US Central Command had executed “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target” on Kharg.
“For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil infrastructure on the island,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“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.”
It was not immediately clear which military targets were hit.
The island is located in the north of the Persian Gulf, not in the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil where sea traffic has ground to a halt due to the conflict.
Asked on Friday when the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, “It will happen soon.”
Iran warned of retaliation if US targeted critical base
As we reported earlier, US President Donald Trump says the American military has bombed an island vital to Iran’s oil network.
Trump said US forces “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island – home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports – and warned that the island’s oil infrastructure could be next. Just a day before, the speaker of the Iranian parliament said such a strike would provoke a new level of retaliation.
The US strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf targeted military sites but left alone its oil infrastructure for now, Trump said in a social media post.
But he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he will reconsider his decision not to “wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.”
On Thursday, the Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in a social media post that attacks on the islands on Iran’s southern maritime frontier would cause Iran to “abandon all restraint,” underscoring how central they are to the country’s economy and security.
AP
German chancellor wants a ‘convincing plan’ for ending the war
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the world is witnessing a “dangerous escalation” in conflict, as he spoke alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at military exercises in Norway.
Merz said Iran is “indiscriminately” carrying out attacks on countries across the Gulf region.
“With every day this war lasts, more questions are coming up, more than can be answered yet,” he said.
“And one thing becomes increasingly clear, we need a convincing plan on how this war can come to an end.”
AP
Hegseth calls Vance ‘indispensable’ to US leadership over actions in Iran
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has applauded the US Vice President JD Vance as a “key voice” on Iran, calling him “an incredible member, leader of this team”.
Trump said while dismissing the notion of a disagreement this week that Vance was “philosophically a little bit different than me” at the war’s outset.
Vance, a former Marine, has often reinforced Trump’s vision of an America more focused on solving problems at home than intervening in conflicts abroad. In a 2023 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that is receiving renewed attention, Vance wrote that Trump had his support because “I know he won’t recklessly send Americans to fight overseas.”
On the eve of the strikes, Vance told The Washington Post there was “no chance ” the US would become involved in a drawn-out war as it did in Iraq.
AP
European leaders concerned after US lifts sanctions on Russian oil
As our North America correspondent Michael Koziol has reported, the Trump administration is temporarily lifting US sanctions on Russian oil.
The move will allow more than 100 million barrels already at sea to be shipped to countries around the world, in an attempt to contain prices that have spiked above $US100 a barrel.
European Council President Antonio Costa said in a post on X that the “unilateral decision” by the US was “very concerning”.
“Increasing economic pressure on Russia is decisive for it to accept a serious negotiation for a just and lasting peace. Weakening sanctions increases Russian resources to wage the war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia would likely gain billions from the decision and “it certainly does not help peace”.
“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelensky said. “It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us.”
What you need to know
Good afternoon and thank you for reading our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Today marks two weeks since the US and Israel launched their first strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
If you are just joining us, here’s what you need to know.
- US President Donald Trump says the American military has just bombed the critical Iranian base of Kharg Island, but has spared oil infrastructure. It was not immediately clear which military targets were hit.
- In a Pentagon press conference, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and “likely disfigured.”
- Hegseth still has no answers on whether the US military was responsible for the missile strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed an estimated 175 people 13 days ago. That is despite The New York Times reporting that a preliminary investigation found the US was at fault. The White House has not denied the report.
- Qatari authorities have evacuated parts of Doha’s Msheireb district, which includes government offices and a Google office, Reuters reports. Witnesses said authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s education city, which is home to branch campuses of six US universities.
- The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is growing worse even as world headlines draw attention to the Israeli missile strikes and drone attacks on many parts of this country. The Lebanese health ministry said on Friday afternoon (about 4am on Saturday, AEDT) that the death toll had reached 773 people and that 1933 people have been wounded.
-
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones”. He also observed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be helping Iran a “little bit”.
Qatar evacuated ritzy parts of Doha with government offices, US university branch campuses: witnesses
Qatari authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s Msheireb district, which includes government offices and a Google office, early on Saturday, witnesses said.
The witnesses also said authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s education city, which is home to branch campuses of six US universities.
The recently developed Msheireb district includes five-star hotels, restaurants, dozens of independent retailers and apartments and markets itself as a “smart city,” touting its environmental and digital features, according to The New York Times.
The evacuation orders came after Qatar’s interior ministry said authorities were evacuating a “number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure,” without providing details on the areas. It came about an hour before authorities reported missile interceptions in Qatar.
Reuters
Iran mulls ‘China’ condition to allow oil ships through Strait of Hormuz: CNN
CNN reports that Iran is considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz – if the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, citing a senior Iranian official.
The Islamic Republic is also working on a new plan to manage the flow of oil tankers through the Strait, the source told CNN.
International oil is almost entirely traded in US dollars. China has attempted to make inroads to buy oil in yuan, particularly in Saudi Arabia. But the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency, and the yuan is not broadly accepted.
The report came before US President Donald Trump announced the US had bombed military targets on Kharg Island – a critical Iranian outpost in the Persian Gulf – and threatened additional strikes targeting oil infrastructure if Tehran continued to block energy flows through the Strait.
US officials have discussed trading oil futures to ‘manipulate’ prices
The Trump administration has discussed trading in the oil futures market as a strategy to help curb surging crude prices amid the war in Iran, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.
Burgum, however, said he wasn’t aware whether the US had actually intervened in the market at this point.
“I would say there has been a discussion. We have a lot of smart people working in this administration – a lot of smart people work in the energy trading market,” Burgum said during an interview with Bloomberg Television in Tokyo on Saturday.
“An intervention to try to manipulate and lower prices would require enormous amounts of capital. That is all I will say on that front.”
Watch: Trump says US and Israeli objectives in Iran might be a ‘little different’
Israel drops leaflets on Beirut, but its airstrikes escalate the war
Israeli aircraft have dropped leaflets onto the streets of Beirut in an attempt to shift public opinion against Hezbollah fighters who are firing rockets into Israel, but there is no sign of a peace deal that could halt the airstrikes that have forced more than 800,000 people out of their homes across Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urging the government of Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, and the leaflets spread this message to Lebanese citizens. “Lebanon is your decision, not someone else’s,” the leaflets said. “Stability is not just a word – it is a right for every Lebanese.” The leaflets called Hezbollah “Iran’s shield” and said it should be disarmed.
The message may find a receptive audience in parts of the community that oppose Hezbollah – such as Maronites and other Christians, or Sunni Muslims, and some members of the Shiite Muslim community. At the same time, the Israeli airstrikes generate fierce opposition from people who see them as attacks on Lebanon, not just on Hezbollah.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
