US President Donald Trump said on Friday that US forces had carried out “one of the most powerful bombings in the history of the Middle East”, targeting Iran’s “crown jewel” – the island of Kharg.
“A short while ago, at my direction, United States Central Command conducted one of the most powerful bombing raids in Middle East history, completely obliterating every MILITARY target on Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg (sic) Island,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Declaring that America’s weapons are the “most powerful and most sophisticated” in the world, Trump said he had “decided, for reasons of decency, NOT to wipe out” the island’s oil infrastructure.
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“However, if Iran or anyone else does anything to disrupt the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider that decision,” Trump warned.
Kharg Island, located about 30 kilometers from the Iranian mainland, provides about 90% of Iran’s oil exports, AFP reported, citing a recent JPMorgan report.
“A direct strike would immediately halt most of Iran’s oil exports, likely prompting severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz or against regional energy infrastructure,” JPMorgan quoted the agency as saying.
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‘Nothing They Can’t Do’
Trump’s warning to Iran didn’t stop there — the US president highlighted how in his first term he had “rebuilt” the US military into “the deadliest, most powerful and effective force, by far, anywhere in the world (sic)”.
“Iran HAS NO CAPACITY to defend against anything we want to attack – there is nothing they can do about it!” Trump said.
Following up on his earlier claims, Trump said Iran will “NEVER” have a nuclear weapon, “nor have the ability to threaten the United States of America, the Middle East, or for that matter, the world!”
“The Iranian military and everyone else involved in this terrorist regime would be wise to lay down their arms and save what is left of their country, which is not much!” Trump said.
Minutes later, in a separate post, Trump said: “Iran had plans to take over the entire Middle East and completely wipe out Israel. LIKE IRAN ITSELF, THOSE PLANS ARE NOW DEAD!”
The US president did not elaborate on his latest post.
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CENTCOM says B-2 bombers are on a mission
Hours before Trump announced the attacks on Kharg Island, US Central Command shared a video showing B-2 stealth bombers taking off in the dead of night to carry out strikes as part of Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28.
The mission of the B-2 bombers, according to US CENTCOM, was to deliver “long-range fire to not only eliminate the Iranian regime’s threat today, but also to eliminate their ability to rebuild in the future.”
