Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
President Donald Trump has shared an AI-generated video appearing to show Iran’s Kharg Island being destroyed, at a time when renewed military clashes between Washington and Tehran have heightened fears over the security of the Strait of Hormuz and pushed oil prices sharply higher.
The short video, posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform, depicted Iran’s major oil-export terminal surrounded by explosions and flames. Trump offered no supporting evidence that the island had been attacked, but captioned the post with a warning that Kharg Island was being “blown to smithereens.”
Iranian officials quickly dismissed the claim. Hamid Bovard, head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company, said conditions on the island were stable and that oil-related activities had not stopped. He said workers were repairing damage from previous incidents and continuing efforts to upgrade the facilities.
Kharg Island is central to Iran’s energy industry. Before the current conflict, the island handled about 90 percent of the country’s oil exports. A confirmed attack on its infrastructure could therefore inflict significant economic damage on Tehran and disrupt international energy supplies. The lack of evidence that the facility had been struck did little to ease market concerns, however, as the new exchange of attacks raised the possibility of a wider confrontation.
The latest escalation began when US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, located near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said Iranian forces had been preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strategic waterway.
Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the American military had acted to prevent what it viewed as an immediate danger to commercial shipping. He added that US forces were closely observing the region and remained prepared to protect the movement of goods through the strait.
CENTCOM described the operation as limited and precise, saying it targeted Iranian forces involved in laying mines. The command said the action was necessary to protect civilian crews, commercial vessels, and the international flow of trade.
Iranian state media reported explosions near Larak Island and said several Revolutionary Guard personnel and civilians had been killed or injured. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps condemned the American operation as a major strategic error and promised that those responsible would face retaliation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran did not want war but would respond to attacks against the country. He said Iran would not remain inactive in the face of aggression and had the capability to deliver a decisive answer.
Iran later launched missiles toward sites used by US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Jordan’s military said its air-defense systems intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace. Officials said the projectiles were destroyed before reaching civilian areas or causing significant damage.
The UAE also reported detecting a drone over its territorial waters. Iranian media claimed that the Revolutionary Guard had attacked a facility in the country that hosted American personnel. Emirati authorities denied that the base had been hit, condemned the incident as a dangerous escalation, and said the country retained the right to respond.
The attacks represented the first major direct military exchange between the United States and Iran in more than a month. They also disrupted Washington’s recent emphasis on economic pressure. In recent weeks, the Trump administration had focused on sanctions intended to limit Iran’s access to international finance and punish companies and banks accused of assisting Tehran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States could announce new secondary sanctions every week. He said banks would be among the first targets and warned financial institutions against handling Iranian funds or supporting the Iranian government.
On Friday, Washington announced measures against Banque Misr’s UAE branches over alleged connections to Iranian shadow-banking networks. Egypt’s central bank said the action applied only to the bank’s operations in the UAE and did not affect Banque Misr’s headquarters in Cairo, its other foreign branches, or any other Egyptian bank.
The United States has described Banque Misr’s six UAE branches as an important channel for Iran’s access to dollars. Treasury officials said the branches had processed approximately $1.8 billion in transactions between January 2024 and June 2026 for more than 100 companies suspected of having links to Iranian financial networks.
The renewed military activity caused oil prices to rise in early trading. Brent crude increased to roughly $90.50 per barrel, while US crude also gained more than two percent. Investors are especially concerned about the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway. Since the conflict began, commercial traffic has fallen substantially, despite Trump’s repeated claims that the strait remains open. A US-backed maritime coalition said shipping was continuing at reduced levels, while a British military monitoring agency reported that an unidentified projectile had struck a tanker near Oman.
Washington has warned Iran that any attempt to lay new mines in international waters would result in the immediate destruction of the vessel involved. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has rejected the US position and insisted that the waterway is not fully open without Iranian approval.
Diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis have made little progress. Although Washington says formal negotiations are not currently taking place, Iran and Oman continue to discuss a possible arrangement for restoring maritime traffic. Regional officials have urged the two sides to pursue a political settlement, warning that continued confrontation could threaten energy supplies and destabilize the Gulf.
With the conflict now entering its sixth month, the latest exchange has raised the risk of further attacks. Any strike on Kharg Island, the Strait of Hormuz, or commercial vessels could send oil prices higher and widen the confrontation across the region.
