Several large explosions heard on Kharg Island hours before Trump deadline

Kharg Island in Iran appears to have been attacked, hours before Trump’s ‘deadline’ for the country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz arrives, Iranian media is reporting.

Mehr News Agency, a state-run news organisation in Iran, reported a large explosion earlier this morning in the area of the vital island, which is situated in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Telegram, they reported: ‘The American-Zionist enemy has carried out several attacks on Kharg Island, and several explosions have also been heard on the island.’

Initial reports appear to show that the island’s oil export hub was hit in the strikes, which could cripple crude oil flow to the region.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued a warning to other countries after the strikes on Kharg Island, saying ‘Restraint is Over’.

They said they will target the US and its allies’ infrastructure in the region and disrupt regional oil and gas supplies ‘for years’.

BBC Persia reporter Farzad Seifikaran also on X: ‘Iranian media reported several large explosions on Kharg Island as a result of an Israeli attack.’

Attacks on bridges throughout Iran also appear to have begun, with the deputy governor of Qom citing a US-Israeli attack on a bridge outside of Qom, the city where Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly is.

It comes after Donald Trump said this weekend that he was considering whether American forces could seize the island.

He wrote on Truth Social previously: ‘We will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalination plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.”‘

Metro has contacted the White House and the Department of War for further information on the alleged explosions.

What is Kharg Island?

Kharg Island is the primary terminal that handles Iran’s oil exports and is so small (five miles long and three miles wide) that it’s smaller than the area of Westminster, in London.

It handles up to 90 per cent of Iran’s oil products and provides storage facilities for up to 30 million barrels of oil.

The US president has previously threatened to strike oil infrastructure on Kharg Island unless attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz ceased.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the energy infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East will be ‘reduced to ashes’ if Iranian energy assets are attacked.

It is located 16 miles off the coast of Iran and 300 miles northwest of the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s often referred to as the ‘Forbidden Island’ because it’s so remote from the mainland of Iran and has intense security in place.

What has Trump said about Kharg Island?

Trump has said that the US could take Kharg Island, an economically crucial site, ‘very easily’ but said ‘we have a lot of options’.

Trump has previously claimed he started the war with Israel at the end of March to encourage regime change and to destroy any chance of Tehran building a nuclear weapon.

But in a new interview with the Financial Times, he compared his plans in Iran to the operation in Venezuela at the start of the year, which ended with the US controlling its oil industry.

The president told the newspaper: ‘To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say, “Why are you doing that?”

‘But they’re stupid people.’

When is the deadline?

Trump has set a deadline for Iran to meet his demands or unleash ‘hell’, adding: ‘Very little is off limits’.

The deadline is set for 8pm Washington DC time today.

Yesterday, the President warned: ‘They have till tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. I believe they’re negotiating in good faith. I guess we’ll find out.’

(with agencies inputs)