US Hits Military Targets on Iran’s Kharg Island as War Escalates

Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble following an airstrike in Tehran on March 13.Photographer: Sajjad Safari/AP Photo

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Skylar Woodhouse and Catherine Lucey

March 13, 2026 at 4:16 PM UTC

Updated on

March 13, 2026 at 11:54 PM UTC

President Donald Trump said the US bombed military targets on a critical Iranian outpost in the Persian Gulf and threatened additional strikes targeting oil infrastructure if Tehran continued to block energy flows, in the latest escalation of the two-week conflict that has upended the region.

Trump said American forces “executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East,” including destroying military targets on Kharg Island. Trump, writing in a social media post, added that “for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” though he warned Iran’s leaders that he would immediately reconsider that decision if they interfered with ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.