The President of the United States posted this on his personal social media platform at 10:18 Eastern last evening:
Thus far, there has been no confirmation from the lamestream media.
Reuters (“Iran dismisses Trump’s post of attack on key energy hub of Kharg“):
U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video clip that he said showed Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, which an Iranian official dismissed as “laughable”, just hours after both nations resumed hostilities for the first time since July.
Several hours after the post, there was no evidence Kharg had been attacked.
The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.
“Trump’s tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” said Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co. Oil operations had not stopped and workers were busy repairing previous damage and modernising facilities, he added on the website of Nournews, a semi-official outlet close to Iran’s top security body.
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Trump had said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, with no further details.
Reuters confirmed that an accompanying video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically-generated, using software that detects AI-manipulated imagery.
By all accounts, US forces did attack Larak Island, although I would not personally describe it as having been “blown to Smithereens.” That is, I will concede, an inexact unit of measure.
The Guardian (“US strikes Iranian launchers in strait of Hormuz, sparking reprisal attack on airbases in Jordan and UAE“):
Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on airbases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates after the US attacked Iranian rocket launchers in the strait of Hormuz, the first such hostilities in a month.
Hours later, Iranian state TV later reported that a supertanker had caught fire after hitting two naval mines while attempting to pass through the southern side of the strait. It did not identify the vessel or provide information about its crew.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that other ships violating its rules would face the same fate and said compliance with its regulations for passage through the strait was mandatory.
The last known US strikes on Iran were in late July and the war has reached a stalemate in recent weeks, with Washington threatening to impose costly sanctions on countries that support Iran.
The latest exchange of fire was sparked late on Sunday by a US attack on Larak Island in the strait. “I can confirm that earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak island,” a US official said. “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the US attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with “punishment” from Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the US attack was a drone strike. The Mehr news agency quoted the IRGC as saying its air defences had shot down a US mq-9 drone over the strait, causing it to crash into Gulf waters.
NYT (“U.S. and Iran Trade Fire for First Time in a Month“) adds:
U.S. forces attacked two Iranian rocket launchers attempting to disperse sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, U.S. Central Command said on Sunday.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said early Monday, local time, that it had fired missiles at American fighter jets at air bases in Jordan in response to a U.S. attack on Iran. Several thousand U.S. military personnel are stationed at bases in Jordan.
The Jordanian military said it had intercepted eight missiles that violated the country’s airspace at dawn on Monday. It did not report any injuries or damage. A person familiar with the Iranian attack, who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, said that all of the Iranian missiles fired toward Jordan had been intercepted.
The U.S. attack was the first by the United States against Iran in a month and appeared to be limited rather than a resumption of large-scale American bombing. But the back-and-forth raises the risk of a new round military strikes by both sides
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command, said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces had been observed preparing to launch rockets armed with mines from Larak Island into the waters of the surrounding strait, a vital shipping waterway for oil and gas.
As of last week, U.S. forces had cleared the mines that Iran had planted in the strait, according to Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command.
Obviously, Kharg Island has been blown to Smithereens, regardless of what the Lying New York Times is telling us. It would be inconceivable for the President of the United States—who should definitely be on Mount Rushmore and get at least one Nobel Peace Prize!—to announce it otherwise.
