U.S. President Donald Trump posted that 'Kharg Island is being blown to pieces,' accompanied by what appears to be an AI-generated video of an island explosion. English media described the clip as AI imagery, rather than verified real-time strike footage.

No independent reports confirmed that Kharg Island's oil facilities were being flattened at that moment. The day had already seen exchanges of fire, with U.S. forces striking two Iranian rocket launchers on Alarak Island, and Iran subsequently firing ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan. Mentioning Kharg Island does not equate to reports indicating action against that island on that day.

Kharg Island is Iran's main crude oil export hub, with about 90% of oil exports passing through it before entering the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has previously threatened to seize or strike the island, stating he could leave the pipelines intact while targeting other facilities on the island, and has also posted AI-generated images of 'striking Kharg' on social media.

Less than a minute after the post, he shared another video of himself playing golf. The threatening imagery and everyday footage were juxtaposed without any accompanying military damage assessments or target lists.

In recent weeks, U.S. rhetoric has increasingly shifted towards sanctions and blockades, with the Central Command reporting that dozens of merchant ships have been rerouted and some attempting to breach the blockade have been disabled and inspected. Thus, Kharg Island serves as both an oil pricing point and a political signal.

In market mechanisms, the buyers are the crude oil risk premium and safe-haven funds, while the sellers are the certainty of navigation through Hormuz. The event is driven by presidential imagery, not necessarily by new strikes on the island, leading funds from oil transport insurance and futures contracts to flow into spot crude and safe-haven positions; benefiting are the oil price volatility trading positions, while pressured are Iranian exports and tankers relying on Kharg for shipments.

Source: Public Information