Iran has said oil exports from Kharg Island are continuing normally despite US strikes on the key oil terminal, with no casualties reported, according to media reports.
Ehsan Jahanian, political deputy to the governor of Bushehr province in southern Iran, acknowledged the attacks on Kharg Island but said oil exports were “fully under way” and the island’s oil facilities remained intact.
He said the process of exporting oil from the Kharg oil terminal was continuing and companies operating on the island were carrying out their activities without interruption, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.
Jahanian added that parts of military facilities and Kharg Airport were damaged in the strikes.
However, he said no military personnel, oil company employees or residents of the island were injured in the attack and that all sectors were continuing their routine operations.
Before A US strike on Iran’s Kharg Island has significantly raised tensions in the ongoing confrontation between Tehran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other, according to media reports.
Kharg Island, located in the northern Gulf, is considered a crucial part of Iran’s oil export system and serves as the terminal for nearly 90 percent of the country’s crude shipments. Its deep waters allow Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to load oil for export.
Analysts say targeting the island is effectively aimed at the core of Iran’s economy because of its central role in oil exports.
If US President Donald Trump decides to go further and target the island’s oil facilities rather than only the Iranian troops stationed there, it could push global oil prices even higher.
Observers are also concerned about Iran’s potential response. Despite the ongoing conflict, Iran still has the capacity to launch large numbers of low-cost explosive drones targeting Gulf Arab countries and shipping routes.
There are also fears that Iran could expand its targets to include key infrastructure in the region, such as desalination plants that supply drinking water to millions of people.
