Iran began responding this Saturday (14) to the American attacks on Kharg Island, where 90% of the country’s oil exports are stored. Since dawn, the Revolutionary Guard has reached at least three American air bases and the second largest fuel supply center in the world, located in the United Arab Emirates.
The Islamic regime has declared that US interests in the United Arab Emirates, including ports, docks and military installations, have become legitimate targets since Friday’s bombings. Up until this point in the war, Washington had avoided carrying out attacks on Kharg Island.
Earlier, Reuters news agency reported that some oil loading operations had to be halted at the port of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, due to a drone attack that resulted in a fire after debris fell during the interception.
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Naval Force, General Alireza Tangsiri, also said on Saturday that his forces attacked “key targets” at three American air bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar in several consecutive waves.
Among the targets hit were Al Zafra Air Base (United Arab Emirates), Sheikh Isa Air Base (Bahrain) and Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar), where Patriot radars, control towers, aircraft hangars, central ramps and fuel dumps “were consumed by flames”, Tangsiri claimed in X.
After the American attack, President Donald Trump stated that the bombing was aimed at military objectives and that he chose “not to destroy the island’s oil infrastructure”, a decision he may reconsider if the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz persists.
Kharg, located 25 kilometers off the Iranian coast, is considered a vital point for Iran as it houses the country’s main oil terminal and is the largest crude oil loading point for tankers.
The seizure of the island by American forces is high risk. The US has sent an expedition of Marines to the Middle East, a rapid response force designed to react quickly to military crises, the Wall Street Journal reported.
