Tehran: Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal and an important revenue lifeline, was targeted in multiple strikes on Monday, hours before US President Donald Trump’s deadline for the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz ends at 8 pm ET (5.30 am IST on Wednesday), Mehr News reported.
Mehr agency suggests the island’s key oil export hub was extensively struck, raising concerns of a severe disruption to regional crude supplies.
Iranian authorities said a wave of airstrikes also hit multiple transport infrastructure sites across the country, including a railway bridge in Kashan, a train station in Mashhad and a highway bridge near Tabriz.
Following the extensive strikes, a day after Iran rejected another ceasefire plan by the US to end the 38-day war, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued said that ‘restraint is over’, metro.uk reported.
IRGC threatened to disrupt oil and gas flows across the region “for years” by targeting infrastructure linked to the US and its allies.
During its strikes on Kharg Island in March, the US had spared oil infrastructure and targeted military installations, destroying naval mine storage and missile bunkers.
The importance of Kharg Island to Iranian economy can’t be overestimated, as it handles up to 90 per cent of its crude shipments and offers storage capacity of around 30 million barrels.
Kharg Island, with a total area of around 20 square kilometres, is located around 25 kilometres off Iran’s western coast and roughly 480 kilometres northwest of the Strait of Hormuz.
