NPR
U.S. military bombs Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub, Trump says
+890 words added -487 words removed
Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
By
NPR Staff
This picture, taken a position in northern Israel, shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet flying over the border area with southern Lebanon on March 13, 2026. Roughly 90 percent of Iran's export crude oil passes through the island.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the U.S. is "totally destroying" Iran's regime, militarily and economically.
A woman looks at a building where an apartment was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026.
Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday all six crew members died when their refueling aircraft went down over Iraq.
It said the U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost in western Iraq, while the other landed safely. Marines are heading to the Middle East.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, aboard the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, will join an armada of ships taking part in the Iran war, a source told NPR on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The source did not specify what role the Marines will play.
The deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
— NPR's National Security Desk
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, told NPR they expected the war to last at least another week, and that Israeli leaders increasingly believe the U.S. and Israel will end the war unilaterally, without a negotiated agreement. In such a scenario, the official said, Iran and allied groups, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, could establish a new normal of intermittent fire at Israel, prompting repeated Israeli retaliation.
The official said that kind of tit-for-tat exchange would leave Israelis living with an intolerable "war routine" even if the intensity of the conflict fades.
The official also said Israel is not ruling out an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon, but described Israel as holding back so far from striking broad civilian infrastructure, largely because the U.S. sees Lebanon as a partner.
— Daniel Estrin, Carrie Kahn
Arezou Rezvani contributed to this report from Erbil in Iraq's Kurdish region.
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− Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
President Trump said on Friday the U.S.
+ Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
President Trump asserted Saturday that the U.S.
− military had "totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran's crown jewel, Kharg Island."
Middle East These are the casualties and cost of the war in Iran 2 weeks into the conflict In a Truth Social post Friday evening, Trump added that "for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the island." The president warned that if Iran "or anyone else" interfere with the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, "I will immediately reconsider this decision."
Kharg Island sits 15 miles off Iran's coast and is critical to Iran's oil infrastructure and the country's economy.
+ military had "destroyed 100% of Iran's Military capability," and that American forces had on Friday bombed the crucial oil sea port, Kharg Island.
Trump said the strikes had sought to avoid damaging the island's oil facilities, which has become a major focal point during the war as concerns have grown globally about Iran's energy exports.
Kharg Island sits 15 miles off Iran's southern coast and is critical to the country's oil-dependent economy.
− On his way to Mar-a-Lago in Florida shortly before his post, Trump told reporters, "The situation in Iran is going very well.
+ In a Truth Social post Friday evening, Trump wrote that "for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the island." But the president warned that if Iran "or anyone else" decided to interfere with the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, he would "immediately reconsider this decision."
Middle East These are the casualties and cost of the war in Iran 2 weeks into the conflict Also on Saturday, the U.S.
− A lot of big hits today, a lot of big wins today." Asked how long he thinks the war would last, he said, "I can't tell you that.
+ Embassy in Baghdad once more renewed a call for Americans to leave Iraq, after a drone strike hit the embassy compound in the capital's heavily guarded Green Zone.
On Friday, the U.S.
− I mean, I have my own idea, but what good does it do?
+ military had said that all six crew members on a KC-135 refuelling aircraft had been killed when it went down in Iraq.
The crash brings the U.S.
− It will be as long as it's necessary.
+ military death toll to 13, seven of whom have been killed by enemy fire.
− They've been decimated.
+ Eight U.S.
− The country — their country's in bad shape. The whole thing is collapsing."
Earlier on Friday, the U.S. military had said that all six crew members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in Iraq, raising the American death toll after two weeks of war with Iran.
+ service members have been severely injured, according to the Pentagon.
− The news came as President Trump and his defense secretary touted the success of what they call Operation Epic Fury but complained about negative media coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
+ Meanwhile President Trump and his defense secretary have touted the success of what they call Operation Epic Fury.
− Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes have hit more than 15,000 targets and injured the new Iranian supreme leader.
+ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes have hit more than 15,000 targets, and also injured the country's new supreme leader.
+ Both men have also complained about negative media coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
− Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli authorities reported more than 1,300 people killed in Iran, 773 people in Lebanon and 12 civilians in Israel, as well as two Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon.
+ Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The humanitarian toll also deepened as the total number of people displaced by the fighting in Iran and Lebanon reached into the millions.
Iranian and Lebanese health officials reported more than 1,300 people had been killed in Iran, and 773 people in Lebanon.
− Wednesday's aircraft crash over Iraq brings the U.S.
+ Israeli authorities said 12 civilians had been killed in Israel, and two of the country's soldiers killed in Lebanon.
Here are further updates about the conflict.
To jump to a specific coverage topic, click on the links below:
Trump asks other countries to assist | Americans told to leave Iraq | U.S.
− military death toll to 13, seven of whom were killed by enemy fire.
+ casualties | More war ahead
Writing on social media on Saturday, Trump said the U.S.
− Eight U.S.
+ bombing of Kharg Island had been internationally beneficial, saying "many countries" affected by oil disruptions would be sending war ships to work with United States to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
"Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated," he wrote on Truth Social.
Last night, U.S.
− service members are severely injured, according to the Pentagon.
+ forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island, Iran. The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites. U.S. forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg… pic.twitter.com/2X1glD4Flt
"In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water," he continued.
− The humanitarian toll also deepened as the total number of people displaced by the fighting in Iran and Lebanon reached into the millions.
+ U.S. Central Command said the targeted strikes had destroyed multiple military facilities on the island without compromising its oil infrastructure.
− Here are further updates about the conflict.
+ In a post on social media, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad once more warned Americans to leave Iraq immediately after an airstrike early Saturday hit a radar installation on the embassy compound in the capital's heavily guarded Green Zone.
− To jump to a specific coverage topic, click on the links below:
U.S.
+ No casualties were reported.
− casualties | More war ahead
The U.S.
+ An Iraqi security official told NPR the strike hit a radar installation inside the embassy compound.
+ He asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
"U.S. citizens who choose to remain in Iraq are encouraged to reconsider their decision given the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militias," the embassy wrote.
Iran-backed militias have been attacking U.S. bases and other targets in Iraq since Iran began to retaliate against U.S. and Israeli strikes at the start of the war.
The Israeli Air Force wrote on X that Israel's military, the Israeli Defense Forces — or IDF — had Friday completed "several" additional strike waves targeting Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
"Since the start of Operation 'Roar of the Lion,' the IDF has been striking headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah on a broad scale, impairing the organization's command and control capabilities, its economic situation, and the munitions at its disposal," it wrote.
"The IDF is acting forcefully against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which chose to join the campaign and operate under the auspices of the Iranian terror regime, and will act against anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel and the residents of the North in particular."
The U.S.
− CENTCOM, which oversees the military's Middle East operations, initially reported an unspecified incident involving two aircraft Thursday.
+ CENTCOM, which oversees the U.S.
+ military's Middle East operations, initially reported an unspecified incident involving two aircraft Thursday.
− It is investigating the circumstances but confirmed the "loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
That brings the U.S.
+ It is investigating the circumstances but confirmed the "loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
NPR has also confirmed that an additional 2,200 U.S.
− military death toll to 13, seven of whom were killed by enemy fire, according to the Pentagon.
NPR has also confirmed that an additional 2,200 U.S.